One Last Kiss
by GypsyxBells
Summary: Kisshu never intended for things to end the way they did. He wasn't supposed to lose Ichigo, she wasn't supposed to hate him. He wasn't supposed to die. Does anyone ever really get a second chance?
1. Death

_She's in your bloodstream, she answers by your name_

_It's set in stone, see, you're so sure that she's gonna stay_

_But you know when you can't speak or sleep_

_The set's collapsing, you're being swallowed by the play_

A Blueprint - Fear of Music

* * *

The world was ending.

The hot wind battered him, driving the swirling grit into his lungs; he coughed. Heavy gray clouds encroached upon him from all sides, almost entirely obscuring his vision. Not that the scene playing out below him was in any way a desirable thing to see. Watching the destruction of Tokyo from the sky gave Kisshu an alarmingly clear perspective. A strange calmness overcame the green-haired alien, contrasting starkly with the chaos of his surroundings. He thought that he should feel shocked, horrified… _something_, as he watched both his friends and his sworn enemies fighting to the death on the ground, killing each other and the Blue Planet his people coveted so much.

And Ichigo. Ichigo was down there too, fighting for her life. He clutched at his chest for a second, fingers twitching over the place where his heart was somehow still beating, as her name whispered past his lips. It had taken him until the very end to look into his own heart, to admit to himself how deeply he was in love with her, how powerless he was to control his own life any longer. His heart continued to ache as he let memories of her play across his mind, savouring every kiss, each line of her face, every touch and every word he remembered, with sadness and longing that he only just now let himself truly feel.

Because this was the end. Kisshu felt a strange sense of relief; he no longer had to worry about how to make his heart survive another day, because he'd already decided. Any way he looked at it, he was going to die. He had two options. He knew what would happen next; Ichigo would enter Deep Blue's palace, searching for the final Mew Aqua. She would be brave. There was no doubt in his mind that she would give her life for her friends, for the earth… for _that boy_. For the boy Kisshu hated so much, who held Ichigo's heart in the palm of his hand. the hand that was now under the control of the most ruthless being known to either of their races, Deep Blue. And if she entered the hovering fortress to face this being alone as Kisshu knew she must, she would die.

His hands clenched into fists as he contemplated that, as he imagined her lying broken at Deep Blue's feet, the feet of the boy she loved so much. He felt dizzy and fought to regain his strength. Outliving Ichigo was not an option. And so, he would kill Deep Blue. He, the ambitious soldier-in-training who had strived so hard for so long to be assigned to the mission to reclaim Earth, the longed for Blue Planet, would destroy the only chance of salvation his people had. He was willing to doom his entire species for the sake of a girl that did not love him. The cruel irony of the situation was not lost on Kisshu; he doubled over slightly, trying to get a handle on the wrenching feeling in his gut. He reminded himself that his betrayal would not matter either, because this second option would kill him too. He had the advantage of surprise, and of Deep Blue's ongoing struggle to gain complete control over his human host, but killing Deep Blue meant allowing Deep Blue to kill him. He would not be able to defend himself; all of his strength would be put into delivering the killing blow before his life was stripped away. He would have to be quick…

A distant scream pulled Kisshu's attention back to the battle playing out far below him. Fear jolted through him; it was a female voice, someone was screaming in pain. The world tilted and then seemed to break as he watched Taruto drop from the air to the ground far below. Pai hung over him, still airborne, still frozen in the stance of a person aiming to kill. Kisshu's eyes stung and he shuddered as he felt Taruto's life-force, so warm and vital beside his own just moments before, flicker and die. The yellow Mew, for it was she who had screamed, continued to wail, dashing across the line between ally and enemy to weep over the small alien's too-still body. Kisshu turned his eyes upward, unable to watch any longer. A tear rolled down his cheek and his hands shook violently; Taruto was barely more than half his age. The elders back on his planet hadn't considered this outcome when they'd sent a mere child on a reconnaissance mission.

If only he'd _known._ If only he'd realized… He'd grown to hate Deep Blue as he'd discovered his true intentions; he had never meant to _share_ the earth. No, he'd always planned to keep it for himself, to horde it away from the people who worshipped him. He would have them die. Kisshu found it laughably ironic that his people trusted so entirely the one who was about to condemn them, while they despised the ones who could save them.

For the similarities between his people and the humans were undeniable; they always had been. Each fresh wail from the girl on the ground below him reminded him of this painful fact. He could have stopped all of this, he could have done something! They could have worked together, the aliens and the Mews, and created a new world that would be a sanctuary for both of them. But instead of yielding, instead of forgetting his pride, Kisshu pushed. He had pushed and shoved and fought so hard that he'd destroyed the things he so desperately wanted, destroyed any chance he'd ever had to cherish the girl he loved so much.

Kisshu snapped to attention as he thought of Ichigo again. His limbs froze up in shock when he realized that she was no longer on the battlefield. When had that happened? Kisshu panicked for a second, preparing to teleport directly into Deep Blue's base, before thinking better of acting so rashly. Then, swallowing hard to force his heart out of his throat, he closed his eyes and listened. His ears twitched as he tried to hear past the louder, more obvious noises of battle and through the glass ceiling of the hovering palace that was almost directly below him.

He could hear Ichigo's tentative footsteps as she changed direction again and again, unsure of where to go. Kisshu relaxed, he still had time. But it wouldn't be long before she sensed the Mew Aqua, which Kisshu had long since realized had been inside the Aoyama boy all along. He laughed bitterly; if she didn't hate him entirely by now, she would after he attempted in earnest to kill her boyfriend. But he would pay whatever price was due, so long as she lived.

Kisshu teleported reflexively as he heard Ichigo's footsteps quicken, materializing just outside the main chamber of the palace. The dust wasn't so thick here, but the wind made the walls radiate heat. Any regret he'd been feeling at losing face with Deep Blue had disappeared; now that Kisshu was classified as a sort of untouchable, Deep Blue was no longer keeping tabs on him. If not for this fact, he wouldn't be able to even come close to killing him. Deep Blue would focus on his prey, on his victory; as long as Kisshu kept his movement to a minimum, Deep Blue would not hear him. His heart began to race as he heard Ichigo enter the chamber; listening to her fighting Deep Blue while he waited for an opportune moment to attack was going to be hell.

"Aoyama-kun!" Kisshu winced as Ichigo's voice rang out, still calling for the boy he hated so. His fingernails dug into his palm as she screamed, the crackle of pure energy ringing in his ears. It was a while before he heard her feet hit the ground, indicating that she'd been thrown quite a distance by Deep Blue's attack. He heard her land softly on her feet, then stumble. Another scream. Kisshu bit his tongue at the sound of buckling concrete and falling rubble. Ichigo was strong, but when it came down to it, she was still only human.

"This base _is _the final Mew Aqua? Why can you calmly destroy it?" _Dammit!_ Kisshu grit his teeth. Her voice made his heart race. And the way she was so confident in the face of certain death, after being thrown into a solid wall, no less! He pressed his palms against the wall to stop them from shaking.

"That's fine. This grandiose place is no longer necessary." The tremendous evil in Deep Blue's heart bled through into his voice, chilling Kisshu to the bone. He heard footsteps again, heavier ones, moving to the place where Ichigo sat, still breathing heavily. He had to move soon, Deep Blue would not play for long.

"No longer necessary? What are you talking about?" Kisshu realized, in tandem with a renewed aching in his heart that Ichigo was still holding out for Aoyama. She hoped he was still alive, still existent, and she wouldn't fight Deep Blue in earnest until convinced otherwise. She loved him far too much.

"I have no reason to explain it." Deep Blue was amused, condescending. "I am invincible. That's all you need to know." He paused. "Almighty as I am, I cannot be defeated by a pathetic Earthling." Kisshu heard the crackle of energy again. He tensed, preparing to teleport. Deep Blue was readying himself to deliver the killing blow. "This beautiful planet belongs to me. It is solely mine. I won't allow anyone else to touch it!"

"Aoyama-kun!" Ichigo's voice was frantic now; the sound of accumulating energy was almost at a peak. Kisshu teleported, his nerves fraying, dropping to his knees in front of Deep Blue, trying to protect Ichigo from the potential attack as much as to feign respect.

"Please wait, Deep Blue-sama."

"Kisshu?" He glared at Ichigo as she called his name, letting his anger at Deep Blue show on his face. Feigning anger at her was essential to his plan. His expression almost faltered as he met her bewildered gaze; it was going to be hard to do what he knew he had to next.

"What is it, useless one?" Deep Blue's voice was cold. "Get out of my sight!"

"Deep Blue-sama, please accept my deepest apologies for the many disrespects until now." Kisshu stood, swallowing the bile that rose in his mouth at his lies. Keeping his eyes lowered, he moved slowly, deliberately toward Ichigo.

"Kisshu?" It was hard not to run to her, as she called his name again and again.

"In order to atone… watch as I end the life of this Earthling." There was a bitter taste in his mouth as he said this, his lies sounded transparent. Kisshu was electrically aware of the girl in front of him; her fragrance, the sound of her beating heart, her small gasp as he summoned his dragon swords.

"Please lay down your arms," he continued. "Earthlings aren't worth troubling yourself with." His fingers began to grow numb as he gripped his swords tightly, trying to hold them steady.

Deep Blue laughed indignantly. "You're asking forgiveness from me?"

"Yes." Adrenaline made Kisshu's limbs warm and shaky as he drew ever closer to girl he was about to die for. "Everything on this planet belongs to Deep Blue-sama." Finally, he looked up, eyes sweeping to meet Ichigo's gaze once more, as if pulled by a magnet. "However."

He turned swiftly, pulling himself out of existence, focusing his entire consciousness on reappearing exactly where he needed to be. The world reassembled, finding the tip of his sword pressed firmly to Deep Blue's neck. Ichigo gasped, pulling Kisshu's attention away for only a fraction of a second.

"You!" Deep Blue's face twisted in rage as he glared at Kisshu; a glare that would blacken the soul of any man who had not already forsaken it himself.

"You have been driven by your own greed and become careless. All you want is to make this planet your own." Kisshu was ranting, something he'd resolved not to do. But Ichigo's sweet scent was making him drunk; he couldn't quite give up the notion of being alive just to appreciate that smell. And so he stalled. "You never planned to use this power to save my home planet," he continued, letting the frustration and despair that had rooted themselves deeply in his heart to form his words and fuel his anger. "If you really want Earth this badly, go right ahead. But I will never allow you to have Ichigo!" Ichigo gasped again, as if his feelings for her had been obscured until now.

"In the end, you plan to oppose me?" There was something in the undertone of Deep Blue's voice that made the hair on the back of Kisshu's neck stand up. His heart skipped a beat as he steeled himself to perform the action that would end two lives.

"That's right." And then, shivering, shuddering energy trilling through his veins, Kisshu threw back his arm, aiming his other sword and swinging down with a frenzied passion that threatened to consume him. "DIE!"

Pain. Kisshu's vision wavered, swimming, fraying; sharp white light sparkling at the edges. He felt the corner of his mouth tug into a bitter smile. "I lost." He coughed, blood gurgling in his throat, spattering his chin, as Deep Blue lifted him ungracefully into the air, pushing him from the end of his sword, sending him flying.

"Kisshu!" Ichigo's voice rang out, penetrating the haze of pain and shock that was clouding his brain. The ground felt spongy as he hit it and rolled, leaving a smudge of blood, sliding to a stop against something warm. Something that smelled like strawberries. Soft, soothing happiness enveloped him and the white-hot pain melted away as he felt her arms wrap around him, cradling him tenderly, as though he was someone to be cherished. To be mourned. He'd always wished she would hold him like this.

"Kisshu." Her voice. Oh, her voice.

Kisshu opened his eyes, driving away the darkness, just for a moment, to gaze at her face. "I guess I was lucky to have this time with you. Ichigo." Crystalline tears began to form in her eyes, making them sparkle. She looked so lovely when her eyes sparkled; he'd always wished they'd do that when they were looking at him. This, however, was unexpected. "Are you crying, Ichigo?"

_She shouldn't cry for me._ Sadness marred the bliss in Kisshu's heart; he hadn't expected his death would make her sad. He hadn't expected his death would be in vain, either. He hadn't been good enough, hadn't been strong enough; he'd failed. But the way Ichigo was looking at him now made him feel like he was worth more than all the stars in the sky.

The strength was fading quickly from his limbs, he felt his heart slowing, dying. _One last thing. _"Ichigo, I'll teach you something good." Struggling, he raised his head, pain twisting sharply in his gut. He could almost feel her warm lips on his as he fought his failing body, trying to reach them. Ichigo was weeping still, her warm tears now falling to land on his chest.

"Kisshu." She cried softly, tenderly. He'd always wished she'd say his name like that. He was close to her now, so close. Her warmth soothed his frigidly cold skin, arms letting go of him tentatively as he tried to sit up, fighting back the darkness. _One last kiss. _Her lips, so smooth, so soft, so very close.

The fog enveloped him then; the last of his strength dissolved, seeping from his limbs like water from cupped hands. He fell, away from her perfect lips, back into the cradle of her arms; the feeling of her warm body against his began to disappear, the feeling of her heartbeat. Kisshu felt as though he was floating. He wished, as desperately as a dying man could, that he'd done things differently. With all his heart, he wished that he'd deserved one last kiss. _Ichigo,_ he thought, as his mind spiralled into darkness, _I hope you find the strength to win; to survive._ He heard through the fog, as though from a great distance, the sound of someone screaming his name.

_Koneko-chan… I love you._

* * *

**A/N: Hello, minna-san. I've decided to do the author's note at the bottom from now on, so as not to distract the reader from the actual story. This is my first chaptered fic, as mentioned in the description, so it's an adventure for me too. ^^ **

**A depressing ending, I know, but it gets... less depressing as we go on. I was worried about submitting the first chapter right after finishing it, so I waited all of two days while I laboured over the second chapter, which is much shorter and significantly less inspired. ^^; I tend to get swamped with real life, and so there may be some gaps between chapters, but I will get them up, just as soon as I write them.**

**Constructive criticism is always and forever appreciated. :D**

**~Gypsy**


	2. Pulse

_Wandering through starry skies_

_And when tomorrow's day arrives_

_I'll be a morning closer to_

_The brightest hour, here with you_

Brightest Hour - The Submarines

* * *

A beautiful red-haired girl, face upturned, eyes wide in surprise. Warm, sweet kisses, rushed and fevered and urgent. Black cat ears…. And a tail. A pink bow, a bell ringing. Happiness, giddy, shivering excitement. A new challenge. Rushing air, swooping, sending his stomach flip-flopping. Teasing, taunting, playing, and more stolen kisses; the sweetest of scents. Rejection. A stinging in his cheek, angry brown eyes, and angry pink ones, sparking at him, filled with hate. Aching, somewhere near the heart. Numbness. A smiling red-haired girl, pigtails, viewed from above, holding the hand of a happy, tanned-faced boy. Pink dress, a heart-shaped weapon, glowing brightly. More aching; constant aching, longing. A warm wrist, tugged at, pulled to him. Desire, a breaking heart, shared, spilled. Despair, rage, annoying sense of right and wrong, ignored, ignored. Falling rubble, blue light, blinding him, lifting his feet off the ground, pushing him away; defeat, shame. Power growing, frantic back-pedal, regret. Fear. Urgency, writhing uncertainty, muscles twitching in idle expectation. Pain, searing pain, and tears. Falling softly, falling on him, for him. Desire, stronger than everything, than the world, a kiss, not quite given, not quite received. Darkness, darkness...

Nothingness. This was…. Where, exactly? Fuzzy memories swam in and out of Kisshu's awareness, some clearer than others, some accompanied by vague tinges of pain. He wondered rather passively what had happened, what it was he was trying to remember, deciding after another flash of phantom pain that he didn't care for now. He wanted to melt into this darkness, lose himself completely. He'd been ready to do that before, whenever that was, wherever it was. He'd been expecting it, accepting of it. He felt somewhat cheated, undersold. Tired.

Then, soft light, which had begun to pulse at the edges of his consciousness, pulling and prodding here and there, brought Kisshu to his senses, more or less. He blinked, or would have if he'd been able to. Where were his eyes, exactly? Come to think of it, he couldn't seem to locate himself at all. He wasn't experiencing any kind of sensation whatsoever; he was only remembering the pain, not actually feeling it. He tried to get some sense of physical presence, and came up annoyingly short. Was death supposed to be so confusing? Kisshu remembered now that he was dead – what else could he be? His death he remembered clearly, trying to recall the details of what had happened before it, slowly sifting his mind out of the dark, empty void.

He remembered more pain, white-hot pain. And he remembered Ichigo, her scent, her warmth. He wondered if she was alright. He wanted so badly to be with her, to protect her from the danger he was sure she was in. Would she join him here, wherever this was, if she met the same fate as he? Kisshu wasn't sure he wanted that, as much as he longed for her presence, to see her one last time. He felt a burning sensation in the place he thought his lips should have been; how badly he'd wanted that last kiss.

He found himself wondering what had happened after he'd left. Would she remember him fondly? Kisshu noticed a tangible, heavy depression settle over his psyche. No, of course not. He'd messed up, too much to rectify things, even in death. How awful he had been to her, how cruel. He wondered if he was capable of loving someone properly. Not that it mattered now, he was dead. Kisshu would have laughed bitterly if he could; Pai had always told him love was a dangerous thing, not worth time or effort. If only he'd listened to the older alien. If only he'd listened to a lot of things – his conscience, his intuition, his heart.

His musings were interrupted by the sudden and startling reappearance of one of his hands. He stared at it, all thoughts of Ichigo driven from his mind. He had control over this disembodied hand, he realized, and flexed his fingers perplexedly, trying to shake off the stabbing pins and needles that were now plaguing his flesh. Slowly, the rest of his arm came into existence, accompanied by the increasing sensation of pins and needles. His other arm followed suit, stabbing pain shooting along it as it materialized. Bewildered as he was, Kisshu didn't fully appreciate the fact that his body was appearing out of nowhere bit by bit until he was fully formed, and by then it was too late to be anything more than mildly surprised. His clothes brushed against his skin as he moved hesitantly, feeling exactly the same as they always had. Kisshu closed his eyes tightly, trying to shake off the huge head trip he'd just had. Flowing air of some sort - not quite cool, not quite warm - whispered over his skin, causing his hair to flutter across his face.

It came to his attention that there seemed to be some sort of force acting upon him, gradually increasing in strength; his ribbons began to drift forward, as if caught in a current underwater. His hair and clothing gradually began to pull in that direction as well. He strained his ears, trying to hear any kind of sound, but there was none. Opening his eyes, he examined himself carefully, checking for any trace of the injuries that had killed him. There wasn't even a scratch. He patted his stomach gingerly, expecting some kind of pain to ensue. Nothing. The noise of this action echoed briefly before cutting off, as if being absorbed by a sponge.

He cleared his throat - soon realizing there was nothing to clear – and tried to speak. "Hello…lo…l-" His voice echoed as well, before going silent abruptly; that was kind of freaking him out. Shaking his hair out of his eyes, he glanced around. He appeared to be floating, and his hypersensitive, newly-formed skin burned faintly. Kisshu rubbed his arm, trying to alleviate some of the tingling. It didn't help. He glanced around again, squinting with his now fully present eyes - taking in the seemingly endless expanse of black interspersed now with flashes of white light - in bemused amazement.

A particularly bright flash caught Kisshu's eye, and he turned just in time to see a blotch of pulsing light flicker for a moment before expanding violently outward, engulfing each of the smaller blotches as it went, turning the former darkness a searing, blinding white. He threw an arm across his face with a grunt, squinting in pain; he was throwing long, dark shadows, indicating the light came from only in front of him – a quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that the space behind him was still entirely black. He turned back to gaze at the brightness, enthralled. After a moment, colour rippled across Kisshu's field of vision, swimming and ebbing before assembling itself into something that looked like a painting. Squinting harder, Kisshu realized with a start that he recognized this scene. He was staring down at the side street in Tokyo where he had first laid eyes on the girl who would change his life forever. This was exactly where he had been when he'd first met Ichigo.

Kisshu gasped. He could make out a red-haired girl, clad in a gray school uniform, standing far below on the ground with her back to him. She was frozen in mid-step, as if the scene before him really was a painting. His hands reached out involuntarily, impulsively jerking toward the vibrant scene as if trying to clutch it to himself. He felt the consistency of his body change, becoming less solid, as if he was fraying at the edges, wearing thin. Slowly, ever so slowly, his centre of balance shifted, and he felt himself tipping forward, teetering on the edge of plummeting forward and staying put. The air rippled, the image before him warping. And suddenly, in a rush of wind and flashing light, he had tipped over the edge and was hurtling toward the ground, hands outstretched, hair flying back, heart pounding louder and more vitally than it had in ages.

In an instant, a million tiny things drew Kisshu's attention every which way; the deliciously cool air on his feverish skin, the pleasant ache the bright daylight caused in his eyes, the sounds of the city below him. He felt a wide grin spreading across his face, exposing his pointed canines. The grass smelled so sweet; he felt so _alive._ More alive than he'd felt in weeks, in months, perhaps even years. He could feel his heart thudding against his ribcage, his pulse racing through his veins. He wasn't numb anymore, he realized. He wasn't dead inside. But of course, there were other things that required his more immediate attention. He was stuck in a deep swan dive, hurtling toward the ground headfirst.

"I just wanted to check out the people who oppose our plans. But I'm actually pretty fond of you." The words were out of Kisshu's mouth before he realized it was moving, and he was immediately struck by an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. The red-haired girl below him looked up in shock, apprehension flashing in her eyes. They were growing larger alarmingly fast; he was flying – no, _falling_ – straight toward her. He realized this at the same time he recognized her. It _was _Ichigo! Joy collided inside him with fear and immense confusion, throwing him off-kilter; with a loud yelp Kisshu lurched to the side, trying frantically to pull out of his dive before he was reunited painfully with solid ground. No such luck. He bounced several times after hitting the ground, sliding to a stop on his back against the rough cement, severely winded and gasping for breath.

After seeing that he wasn't going to get up or stop hyperventilating any time soon, Ichigo was standing over him in a heartbeat, glaring in angry surprise. "W-who the heck are you?" A small, furry pink robot hovered behind her shoulder, chirping a shrill warning of 'Alien! Alien!' Kisshu gaped at her, dumfounded, finding himself increasingly overwhelmed by the sound of her voice. He hadn't expected to ever hear it again – to hear anything again for that matter.

"K-koneko-chan!" He managed to choke, sitting up abruptly. "It's me, Kisshu!" It was her. It was really her. His eyes swept over her, taking her in. She rendered him speechless, breathless. He shook his head, trying to keep his thoughts from catching up with his feelings. He didn't want to have to grapple with the realization that none of this should be happening, that this wasn't possible. His eyes drifted to her lips and he was nearly pulled to his feet by an almost uncontrollable urge to kiss her. His heart sped up in response, beating loudly, reminding him over and over again that he was somehow, miraculously, still alive.

Ichigo shrank from his feverish scrutiny, her face turning red. There was no hint of recognition in her eyes. "W-Where do you get off, calling me things like that? I… I have a b-boyfriend, you know!" Her voice faltered and she turned even redder. She'd always been a horrible liar. "Anyway, I have no idea who you are! If you were trying to attack me just then, you failed miserably." Kisshu was trying furiously to say something, anything. Or do something other than open and close his mouth dumbly. She was looking at him apprehensively, hand sliding into her pocket for her power pendant. Did she really not recognize him?

"Koneko-chan, wait!" Kisshu found his voice, finally. Ichigo started and stepped quickly backward as he tried to stand. "What do you mean, you don't- GAH!" He tottered dangerously, tripped on one of his ribbons, and fell flat on his face. "Ow," he groaned, mumbling into the pavement.

Ichigo prodded his limp body with her foot. "Look. I don't know who you are, but you-" She was cut off by a sudden beeping noise. She gasped, plunging her hand into her pocket and withdrawing it to glance at her phone. "Wah, now I'm late!" She glared at him again. "I've gotta go, but don't think I won't come back and deal with you later!" Stuffing the unused power pendant into her breast pocket she half turned, stopped, and shot him another wary look over her shoulder before spinning around and dashing away, muttering anxiously under her breath. "Gah, Ryou's going to be so mad!" The flying pink thing followed behind her; it still hadn't stopped trilling its annoying warning. Kisshu gaped as her footsteps faded into silence, trying to work out what had just happened.

Ichigo didn't know him? She couldn't possibly have left like that without engaging him in battle otherwise, not if she was that mad. They were enemies, after all. But how could she not know him? He'd just died for her! And he _had _just died, hadn't he? There was no way he'd imagined the fight - or lack thereof - or all that pain. And she was supposed to be fighting Deep Blue right now, with all the others. But the sky was blue, the air was crisp and clear. He could sense no hints of a battle, no trace of the strange electric energy the Mews fought with. They couldn't have beaten Deep Blue – at least not so quickly, not so easily. Then again, he didn't know how much time had passed since he had been in Deep Blue's palace. He closed his eyes, trying to locate the life force of Pai, or Deep Blue – ignoring the stinging in his eyes as he thought of Taruto. But he could feel nothing, which meant that either his remaining comrades – he used the term loosely – had died, or they weren't on Earth at all.

That couldn't be right.

He was supposed to be dead, but for some reason, he had just been catapulted out of the void into a seemingly peaceful Tokyo, entirely devoid of any of his kind. And what had just happened was way too similar to his first encounter with Ichigo to be pure chance. In fact, the two incidences were almost identical. Well, up to the point where he'd crashed ungracefully to Earth and made a fool of himself. Kisshu looked around, half expecting the ground beneath him to melt away, returning him to the dark, silent limbo he had just left behind. But the gritty cement was firm beneath his hands, which were starting to ache from being leaned on for so long.

Yes, this was the exact time and place as that day so early on in the mission; nothing else made sense. He'd even been saying the same thing he'd said then when he'd been vaulted here out of that dark, empty nothingness, wherever it was.

How was that possible? To experience again a moment already lived? But perhaps it wasn't exactly the same moment; that time he'd stolen his first kiss from Ichigo. He placed a hand on his lips, which burned again suddenly; things certainly hadn't gone so well for him this time. He rubbed his bottom sorely. So, if it wasn't the same moment, then what was it? A fantasy, perhaps – his dying wish of being with Ichigo, granted in the afterlife? He ruled out that idea after a particularly painful throb from his head, which had smacked against the pavement rather violently. Death was surely not so painful.

Something dawned on him then, as the last piece clicked into place in his mind. Something that made his eyes go wide; something so unbelievable it sent tremors down his spine. Kisshu blinked furiously. He felt as though he should try come up with another explanation, one that made more sense, one that wasn't so terribly too good to be true and so annoying all at the same time, but oh Lord he didn't want to. Feeling dizzy, Kisshu looked around in utter amazement, half sweepingly, beautifully, overwhelmingly happy, half insanely irritated. He yelled, just for the sake of letting the sound tear out of his throat. "What the HELL?"

* * *

**Okies, that's chapter two. ^^ A little shorter than the first; I had some trouble with un-inspired-ness at first, but it got a little easier as time went on. Terribly sorry about the lateness. That'll probably be happening a lot with this story. ^^; But I hope you enjoyed it. As always, feedback will get lots of love and a virtual hug. **

**~Gypsy**


	3. Plan

_And you're my favourite thing,_

_Tell it everywhere I go_

_I don't know what to do_

_This heart's on fire, this heart's on fire_

This Heart's on Fire - Wolf Parade

* * *

The ground pressed up less firmly against Kisshu's feet than he would have liked as he came into existence inside his ship, swaying slightly in exhaustion. He let the breath he'd been holding whoosh from his lungs; he didn't like to think of all the cold nights he would be spending if he hadn't been able to find the ship. Looking around dazedly, he realized he'd appeared in the vast, red sub-space with the floating pillars that Pai liked to do his plotting in. Kisshu shuddered; the penetrating silence reminded him far too much of the empty, pressing void he'd been freed of not half an hour before. It reminded him of death.

He teleported quickly, turning so fast in his anxiety that he cricked his neck. "Ow!" He moaned, rubbing it as he reappeared in the ship's control room. It was cold in here, as was most of the ship. There wasn't enough power stored in the energy bays to allow for maintained docking in space, and so he had to keep the ship just inside Earth's atmosphere, high in the sky where it could float freely. He eyed the softly glowing controls and was reminded of the hypnotic, pulsing white light and of the darkness that had loomed behind it. Again he shuddered, moving quickly through a concealed opening to his right into his sleeping quarters, closing the door behind him. The room was dark, left unlit to conserve energy. It was small and empty, save for the bed, but the excess heat the ship's computer generated made it warm. He flopped down onto the hard, low mattress, the scratchy blanket irritating his skin. Kisshu closed his eyes, letting the world tilt and spin behind his lids, trying to sort out his thoughts and come up with some kind of plan. A good one. This time, he would be prepared. He refused to let this second chance pass him by. This time, he was going to do things right.

He was alone here – in the absence of anyone else of his kind, at least – this he was sure of. Of course, there was the worry of Deep Blue, lying half-dormant somewhere in a deeper part of the ship's sub-space, and the orders he occasionally woke up to give. His life force was weak again; rather, it hadn't become strong yet. It was too weak for Kisshu to pick up unless he tried to sense it specifically. He'd picked up on it shortly after Ichigo had left him near the park and followed the faint signal to the ship. He had to keep reminding himself that he was, for some reason, in the past now, that everything had been reset. Including Ichigo, he realized again. He had a clean slate. She had no memories of him, save for the unfortunate incident of a few minutes prior. In any case, that embarrassing exchange alone didn't give her a great deal of reason to hate him. He winced though; it would take him a while to erase her first impression of him.

His next thought made his heart beat rather more quickly: Ichigo's feelings for the Aoyama boy had also been erased – somewhat. He was sure she had already formed feelings for him; he recalled interrupting one of her dates with him shortly after he'd met her. But so far, it was just a crush. Kisshu had realized, toward the end of his ongoing struggle to make Ichigo his, that she had fallen in love with Aoyama. The knowledge that he'd had a chance to win her heart but missed it had nearly sent him over the edge. Immediately denying the fact that he'd lost her, he tried to make her come away with him, tried to force her. It had taken having a building collapse on top of him to snap him out of it, to bring him back to the sad, bleak and horribly painful reality of the situation.

But now things were different; he had that chance once more. Kisshu smiled slightly, eyes still closed, and crossed his arms over his face. The ship rocked slightly, buffeted by Earth's winds, and that, combined with the warmth of the room, was soothing. Kisshu relaxed, the stress of the last hour or so melting away, making him very, very sleepy. Letting his thoughts wander he embraced sleep – not as a respite from the unceasing pain as he had used to, but as a welcome time to dream of warm sunlight and beating hearts and girls with chocolate brown eyes. There were good things waiting for him when he woke up.

oOo

He woke with a start, clutching his head. There was a searing pain burning somewhere behind his eyes. Kisshu gulped audibly; Deep Blue was angry. He sat up quickly, narrowly missing smacking his head off the wall, trying to get his bearings. Scrambling out of bed in the darkness, he nearly tripped as he tried to stand. He flailed his arms wildly in silence, trying not to fall over. Regaining his balance and verily flying out the door into the cold control room, he inhaled sharply as Deep Blue's tangible anger sent another sharp pain shooting across his forehead. Kisshu stopped flailing for a moment and stood very still. He had no choice but to go to Deep Blue as soon as possible and take care of whatever it was that was angering him, but just the thought terrified him to the point chattering teeth. He felt as though such close proximity to Deep Blue might burn him, or rend him through with cold, hard hatred. Would he be able to act in a normal manner, given the recent events? Kisshu wondered how long he'd been asleep.

Another tremor of rage shook Kisshu's consciousness, forcing his hand. Apprehensively, and ever so slowly, he teleported, focusing his thoughts reluctantly on Deep Blue's faintly glowing life force. Cold air rushed over his skin as he reappeared; Deep Blue preferred a frigid climate. His life force was much stronger here, and the magnitude of his irritation nearly bowled Kisshu over. Collecting his thoughts, Kisshu knelt. "My deepest apologies for keeping you waiting, Deep Blue-sama." Ebbing blue light played softly on his face; the ball of light that was Deep Blue hovered before him, sparking angrily.

"Insolence." Deep Blue's voice was terrible as it rang out telepathically, crashing across Kisshu's mind like thunder. "Your lateness will not go unpunished. However, there are more pressing matters at hand." Kisshu tried not to look too relieved; he'd forgotten how easily Deep Blue tired in this weakened state.

"Kisshu," Deep Blue continued, anger ebbing out of his voice, replaced by cold irritation. "Have you gathered the data for the plan?" Kisshu froze. What plan? He strained his memory, trying frantically to recall exactly which one Deep Blue was speaking of.

"Y-yes," he stalled, scrambling to make his voice sound smooth. "I am doing it right now." He summoned two parasites into his hands for dramatic effect, trying to smile conspiratorially; he hoped desperately the plan in question involved a kimera anima. Deep Blue seemed appeased though, the faint glow his formless life force gave off shone a little less fierily.

"Good." He laughed coldly now, what passed for his good humour returning. "For fifty-six million years, it's been crowded with lower life forms…" He was speaking of the Blue Planet now. Of the Earth. What a strange thought. Reclaiming this planet for his people had once been Kisshu's top priority. He was having a hard time remembering why; he couldn't quite recall the feeling of feverish determination, of the drive to prove himself to those who had always told him he was worthless. Snapping out of his reverie, he noticed Deep Blue's expectant silence. Perhaps he should be saying something…

"I will continue my work. This planet will be ours in a matter of months." He tried his best to muster the right kind of fervour into his voice, but he felt transparent. Deep Blue's presence in his mind made him worry about the security of his thoughts. He didn't think Deep Blue could read minds, but of course, he hadn't really ever believed he would be resurrected, either. And Deep Blue's silent scrutiny was unnerving him. He pointedly focused his thoughts on… pineapples, just to be safe.

"Kisshu!" He winced as Deep Blue called him to attention angrily; he hadn't been listening. "Your thoughts do not wander when you are in my presence." Kisshu's head started throbbing again in punishment; he really did need to start paying better attention. "Our planet, the Earth, with all these species of animals, must be brought to submission quickly. That is your mission." Deep Blue's voice regained its cool indifference, although the menace was still there under the surface. "Failure will not be tolerated."

Kisshu suppressed a shudder, standing and bowing deeply. "I understand, Deep Blue-sama." He teleported away before Deep Blue could make any more threats.

He arrived back in the control room in a panic, starting to pace the metal floor as soon as his feet touched the ground. What was he supposed to do, exactly? He couldn't slough off his duties forever without extremely negative consequences; Deep Blue grew impatient, and Kisshu was dispensable. But there was no way in hell he was going to ruin this second chance with Ichigo, not while he still lived and breathed and had arms and legs to fight with. He stopped pacing for a moment, took a few deep breaths to keep himself from hyperventilating. He walked gingerly to the front of the ship, still anxious of Deep Blue, and sat down in the pilot's chair, switching off the still eerily pulsing control panel for good measure.

He plotted.

oOo

The sky was a bright, invigorating blue. Kisshu spread his arms wide as he soared; not minding the fact the he was frigidly cold so high up. He knew better now than to swoop carelessly through the streets of the city below him; this time around he wasn't going to attract unwanted attention to himself.

It had taken him a day or two to work out his plan. He'd kept busy to appease Deep Blue while he thought, going out on false scouting missions and collecting DNA samples to keep up the pretence of carrying on with the mission. It had been hard to stay away from Ichigo, to suppress his gung-ho nature and wait, knowing she was so very close.

But now he was going to see her, in the comfort of knowing he was doing so with the guidance of a very carefully thought out plan. He grinned, his muscles trilling with pent up energy, ecstatic that he was finally doing something productive. He paid careful attention to the moving scenery below him, stopping when he reached Nishiyama Park and moving a little closer to the ground. This was where Ichigo had come for her date with the Aoyama boy all that time ago, the first one Kisshu had ever interrupted. He felt a little nostalgic.

Watching and listening intently for any nearby humans, he teleported swiftly to hide in the branches of a tree, nearby to the entrance of the zoo but out of the way of foot traffic, settling into a crouching position on one of the lower branches. He watched the humans go by, thankful that his hair and clothing camouflaged him somewhat, wondering idly at the notion of putting animals in cages just for the sake of looking at them.

Ichigo would have to take this path in order to enter the zoo, as he knew she would end up doing without his interference. His breath caught at the sound of faint footsteps heading in his direction, and the unmistakeable scent of strawberry shampoo on the breeze. He hooked his legs over the branch he was sitting on, waiting until Ichigo was passing almost directly beneath his perch.

"Hey there, kitty-cat!" He called, swinging around backwards out of the canopy of the tree in a spray of leaves to hang by his knees on the branch, coming to a stop so that his face was upside-down mere inches away from Ichigo's.

"Gah!" She screamed, startled, and lost her footing, arms flailing wildly as she tried not to fall over backwards, the flying pink thing that always seemed to accompany her now blaring its usual warning. Kisshu extended his arm toward her, clasping her hand gently in his own. He waited until she'd regained her balance before letting go and smiling brightly at her startled expression.

"Wha-? You! What are you doing here?" She glared at him pointedly and backed away a little, recognizing him after a few seconds of surprised gaping. "You made me late for work the other day."

"Hello to you, too." Kisshu couldn't help pouting a little, just for the fun of it. "I'm sorry about making you late, if that makes you feel better. And could you turn that thing off?" He pointed to the pink robot floating above her shoulder, still emitting shrill warnings.

Realizing the racket it was making, Ichigo grabbed the thing and squeezed it, causing it to shrink to the size of a keychain, and then looked at him in confusion. "Wait. You're an alien… And you're the one who's been sending all the kirema animas to attack us, right?" Kisshu nodded; there was no point in trying to hide what he'd already done. He was going to have to win Ichigo over despite the minor discrepancies. "So then we're enemies." Again, he nodded, this time somewhat reluctantly. She changed her stance at this, preparing to run or fight if she had to. "So then why have you been acting so… So-"

"Friendly?" Kisshu prompted hopefully.

"Well, I was going to say uncoordinated, but friendly works too. Shouldn't someone who's trying to take over the world be a little less clumsy?" Kisshu tried to keep his cheeks from flushing at the jibe; she wasn't going to forget their first encounter so easily, was she?

"Hmph." He let his legs go slack, doing a half-cartwheel in mid air as he fell to land lightly on his feet, facing Ichigo. She jumped and backed up further at his sudden movement. "You're one to talk," he continued. "You'd have fallen on your butt just then if I hadn't held you up."

Ichigo huffed. "That's because you startled me. Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to jump out at people out of nowhere?" Kisshu tried not to snort. Someone _had_ told him that before. It had been Ichigo, in fact, before everything had been reset. "But you still haven't told me why you're here."

Kisshu smiled. "I'm glad you asked, koneko-chan. I'm here to propose a truce."

Ichigo gaped, relaxing out of her stance in shock. "What… what do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. You don't need to know my reasons at the moment, but I want to form an alliance with you and the other Mews." The words sounded strange, even to Kisshu, but he hoped he could convey to Ichigo how invested in this decision he was. How could he make her believe he was telling the truth?

"That's insane." Ichigo said disbelievingly. "This is only the second time you've shown your face to any of us, and you expect me to believe you all of a sudden want to be friends?" Kisshu nodded, trying to look as earnest as possible. "I don't believe you."

His heart sank at this, but he answered confidently as he could, without skipping a beat. "I expected as much. Which is why I'm going to give you time to go and tell your superiors about my proposal. I'll be waiting in the park by the big fountain at eight o'clock tonight to talk things over. Take whatever precautions you deem necessary, bring whoever and whatever you wish. I'll be alone." He crossed his arms, waiting for her to consider his offer.

"How do I know you aren't actually going to be waiting there with kiremas to ambush us?" Her tone was suspicious, but Kisshu sensed she wasn't entirely convinced he was lying anymore.

"Well, kitten, you're just going to have to trust me on that, aren't you? Don't you think the possibility of ending this whole thing without any more fighting is worth the risk?" She looked at him warily, gazing straight into his golden eyes with her chocolate brown ones. His heart began to beat faster, but he did not break her gaze.

Finally, she spoke. "Alright." She put her hands on her hips, still eyeing him suspiciously. "I guess I have to go tell the others now. But any sudden moves and the deal's off. I have no trouble beating one of your kiremas on my own."

Kisshu grinned; despite her words she looked a little uneasy. "Well then, koneko-chan. It looks like we have a deal." He stretched his arms out in front of him, palms up, just to show her he wasn't going to make any sudden moves, and tried to look solemn. She stared at him hard for another minute before turning abruptly and running hard in the direction she'd come, pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialling as she went, looking over her shoulder once or twice to check he hadn't moved.

He stood motionless until her footsteps had faded away and he couldn't see her bobbing red hair anymore. He let a smile spread slowly across his face in tandem with the feeling of hope that was now swelling in his chest. That had gone better than expected. _And_ he'd kept her from her date with the Aoyama boy without unleashing a kirema anima on her. All in all, a productive day. But now he had to plead his case to the rest of the Mews and their leaders, in semi-hostility, alone, without alerting Deep Blue to his plans, and somehow convince them he truly wanted to help.

This was going to be interesting.

* * *

**A/N: And thus, chapter three. Honto ni gomenasai for the lateness; exams and Japanese lessons snuck up on me and had me swamped. D: The end of this one was difficult to write. I'm a little unsure of how Ichigo and Kisshu should be interacting at this point. But I finally know where I'm going with this, so maybe there'll be fewer delays between chapters from now on? **

**...Nah. x3**

**~Gypsy**


	4. Truce

_Is that you doing that to me_

_With your stare?_

_I feel the temperature start to rise_

_And I really take it from there_

Feel It - Jakalope

* * *

Ichigo shivered. A cool breeze rustled the skirt of her costume, making the muscles between her shoulder blades pull together. For the first time since becoming a Mew she wished her battle costume wasn't quite so cute, thinking of the warm bed waiting for her at home. She rolled her shoulders, trying to dispel the aching tightness that was plaguing them. Her sensitive feline ears twitched now and then, taking in the sounds of her fellow Mews and the night-darkened park beyond them. From her vantage point at the edge of the paved area by the fountain very little was visible, even with her ability to see in the dark. The gloom extended beyond the trees, relieved only by the soft glow of intermittent lamp posts.

The others were waiting tensely behind her in a loose V formation, with Ryou placed protectively at the back despite his vehement objections. The others hadn't taken her news particularly well, and it had taken a lot of convincing on her part to bring them all here - excepting Keiichiro, who had insisted on remaining at the café in order to better scan the park for potential kiremas. But they were here now, more or less, ready and waiting, and the complete lack of any activity was making Ichigo feel rather stupid.

The alien boy was late. She realized she didn't know his name yet; surely he should have introduced himself by now? Well, maybe he had, but she certainly didn't remember it. She was finding herself in equal parts intrigued and annoyed by him, and probably less wary than she should have been. He was just so _interesting_. She supposed it was her newly acquired Iriomote wildcat genes, but she was finding herself growing increasingly curious about the world in general as of late, and the novelty of an actual _alien _was extremely intriguing.

She heard Mint huff angrily behind her and tried not to grind her teeth. "Ichigo, are you sure you didn't just bring us all here for the _attention_ you knew it would get you?" Mint's voice was condescending and more than a touch whiny, grating on Ichigo's frayed nerves not for the first time that night.

"Yes, Minto, I'm sure," she answered somewhat testily without turning around and fought to keep her voice level, not wanting the others to sense her anxiety. Mint huffed again and crossed her arms but remained silent. Ichigo could sense Ryou and even Lettuce growing restless as well, and she found herself growing more and more uncomfortable with the whole situation. She abandoned her vigil for a moment to check the time on her phone; it was ten after eight. She bit back a whimper; she would have to send them all home eventually and she was dreading it.

The minutes ticked by slowly, filled only with the sound of rushing water from the fountain, the sound of an occasional car horn or engine breaking through the trees and the breathing of the three people standing behind her.

At length Ichigo checked her phone again; eight twenty-five. She let out a low sigh and prepared herself to speak. She had half-turned, intending to suggest they wait at least a few more minutes for the sake of being thorough, when the air above the fountain began to shimmer.

The change in atmosphere was audible; Lettuce and Mint gasped quietly and shifted into more battle-ready positions. Ichigo's breath caught in her throat as she felt her pulse quicken, her senses focusing sharply to the point of the disturbance. She gripped her Strawberry Bell more tightly in both gloved hands as the green-haired alien boy shimmered into existence above her. Ichigo found herself almost in awe of him, of his exoticness. And even after all she'd seen since becoming a Mew, the fact that her enemy could actually _teleport_ anywhere he wished unnerved her intensely.

"You're late." Ryou's voice rang out curtly from behind Ichigo and she jumped, garnering a snort from Mint. She flushed, returning her eyes to meet the alien's amber ones, which seemed almost luminescent in the gloom. She realized this was the first time Ryou had spoken since they'd arrived and wondered at this uncharacteristic display of patience. Or maybe he'd been fuming too much to say anything.

"I apologize for my lateness," the alien drifted calmly downward to stand on the ground, crossing his arms over his chest. Despite his casual demeanour, his voice was low and respectful, giving an impression of maturity that Ichigo had missed completely during her first two encounters with him. She squinted, trying to decide what to make of him. She noticed that despite his nonchalant pose, he seemed rather tense. She started as his gaze suddenly locked onto her own; he grinned at her and winked. She felt her cheeks flush yet again, and spluttered to say something.

"Well?" She'd voiced her question a little more sharply than she'd intended to. "We're here now; we're waiting, um… What was your name again?" She faltered halfway through her sentence, losing the guise of confidence completely as he continued to stare into her eyes.

The boy appeared to bite back a snort. "Kisshu," he told her. "My name is Kisshu." Ichigo felt something akin to déjà vu at the sound of his name, but shook it off.

"Well, Kisshu. You said you wanted a truce. Did you mean it?" She folded her arms and waited expectantly, all too aware of the three pairs of eyes trained on her back. She felt stretched a little thin; she was used to the role of leader by title and the feeling of importance it had always given her, but had never actually been in a serious leadership role. Having this responsibility thrust upon her so suddenly was proving more stressful than she'd anticipated. Still, she found herself showing off just a little.

Kisshu's eyes flashed with a strange kind of determination at her words, and for a second Ichigo was terrified she'd led them all into a trap. The boy clasped his hands behind his back and rolled his weight back onto his heels, his polite demeanour slipping as he made a great show of pondering her question. Finally, he spoke. "Yes. I meant every word." Ichigo let out the breath she'd been holding.

"Prove it." It was Mint who spoke now. Ichigo turned around to look at her in surprise, irritated that her role as interrogator had been usurped. Mint smirked at her slightly, but her gaze remained level with the alien boy's. Ichigo scowled and turned back again to await Kisshu's answer.

He was gazing pensively at Mint, head cocked slightly to the side. "Hm… I don't think I can really _prove_ it, in so many words." Ryou snorted derisively from the back. Ichigo heard him start forward, unable to move out of the way before he pushed her to the side somewhat roughly.

"_Ow!_" she hissed at him, trying to regain her balance.

Ignoring Ichigo's flailing, Ryou stopped a few paces in front of the small group and folded his arms. "You have a lot of nerve. You bring all of us out here on a whim, make us wait for you for in the dark for almost an hour and then ask us to trust you completely and _take your word for it _that you aren't going to screw us all over the minute our backs are turned?"

Lettuce made a small frightened sound as Ryou stared Kisshu down in the silence of the growing tension. Ichigo watched him tensely, trying to think of how to react. "Ryou-" She tried to interject, but Kisshu held a hand up to silence her.

"I get it, I get it." He held up his hands somewhat defensively. "I know how that sounds." His voice had taken on a smoother timbre, as though he was trying to pacify them. "But I'm telling the truth. I'm fed up with the selfish opinions of my superior. And after coming to Earth, it's plain to see that all of my race's knowledge of humans is misconceived. Well, most of it."

"So you say." Ryou hadn't moved from his position at the front of the group, and his voice was sceptical. "But you've attacked us ruthlessly and without a word up until today. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Kisshu shifted his weight somewhat uncomfortably. "I can't… I can't exactly say."

"Are you serious?" Ichigo interjected incredulously, cheeks flushing angrily. "If you want a truce so badly, why won't you just tell us?" This was beginning to annoy her, and the complete lack of support from either Mint or Lettuce wasn't helping her mood. Still, she felt a strange indecisiveness. She was sure she couldn't trust this alien; common sense told her not to. But she felt as though she shouldn't write him off completely. Maybe it was those eyes – they shone with a strange sort of urgency, and she found her gaze constantly drawn to his.

"Ichigo-san…" In Ichigo's anxiety, even Lettuce's quiet whisper made her jump.

"What is it Retasu?" Ichigo hissed, whipping round to face her. Lettuce shrank back from her glare, and Ichigo had to remind herself to be patient with the shy Mew.

"Ichigo-san," Lettuce repeated, "I think… I think we should trust him."

Ichigo gaped at her. "But why? What makes you think so?"

Lettuce looked down, scuffling her feet in discomfort. "I- I'm not sure, Ichigo-san. There's something about him, though. He looks at you strangely… It's something about the way he looks at you." Ichigo sighed in exasperation and opened her mouth to question Lettuce further when a garbled hiss sounded out through the park, making them all jump.

Ichigo whirled to face the fountain again, ready to fight off whatever kirema anima Kisshu had decided to spring on them, when she realized the noise was coming from her power pendant. She grasped the brooch tightly, fingers shaking from her adrenaline rush. "K-Keiichiro-san? What is it?"

"Everyone," Keiichiro's voice sounded out from the pendant, barely audible above the white noise. Lettuce and Mint edged closer to Ichigo, listening intently to the pendant. Ryou remained stationary, not taking his eyes off of Kisshu. "Everyone," Keiichiro said again as the static cleared. "Have you met with the enemy representative yet?"

"Hi there," Kisshu call loudly from the fountain. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kisshu." Ichigo looked up at him suspiciously; he was grinning again. "He's going to tell you that I haven't brought any kiremas with me," Kisshu said, catching her gaze.

"That's exactly what I'm going to tell you," Keiichiro replied, apparently unaffected by this sudden introduction to the enemy. The somewhat muffled sound of clacking keys could be heard in the background. "I'm picking up no hints of any kind of kirema. There don't seem to be any parasites either."

"Wait." Ichigo was incredulous. "Then that means he came here unarmed…" She glanced up at the alien, who grinned and winked at her. She scowled, blushing, and looked away, turning to face Lettuce and Mint. "So what do we do?"

"I think we have to trust him, Ichigo-san," Lettuce offered quietly. "He's offering us a peaceful way out of this, and Keiichiro-san just said he hasn't brought any kiremas with him. If we don't trust what he's saying now, his circumstances may change and he won't be able to offer a truce anymore." Her eyes were big and earnest as she spoke, clearly conveying her strong conviction in her words.

"She's right, Ichigo." It was Mint who spoke now, and although her voice retained a tone of superiority there was no hint of petulance in it. "If we don't take this chance now we could lose it. I'm not saying I trust him," she crossed her arms and gave Kisshu a sidelong glance with narrowed eyes. "But think of not having to fight anymore, Ichigo."

The pink-haired girl sighed, trying to breathe through the tightness in her chest. She turned around to eye Kisshu, who was now engaged in an apparent staring contest with Ryou. Something about him made her inclined to trust him, which was exactly why she didn't want to. She was having a hard time placing the sense of familiarity that swelled within her when she looked at him. She turned back to look at Lettuce and Mint, intensely aware now that everyone was waiting on her for a definitive answer.

"It's getting late, Ichigo." Ryou spoke from behind her without turning around, his voice thin and annoyed. "If I were you, I'd say something now so we can all go home."

She sighed again, cursing Ryou mentally before taking a deep breath giving Mint and Lettuce a quick nod. She turned around swiftly and started forward; listening to make sure the others were following behind her as she advanced. Sidestepping Ryou for a clear view of Kisshu, she came to a stop a foot or two away from him. She studied him for a moment as he stood before her, his skin glowing pale in the lamplight, his emerald hair blowing slightly across his cheek in the breeze, his eyes glowing like embers in the half-darkness. She noted again that he didn't look as entirely confident as he'd been acting. She narrowed her eyes as he held her gaze calmly, black cat tail twisting almost into knots in her anxiety. "Alright, Kisshu. You have a deal."

A smile broke across the boy's face almost immediately, his whole countenance relaxing. "You made the right decision, koneko-chan, I think this is going to be-"

"Hang on a second." Ichigo watched his face fall as she cut him off. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. "First, I told you not to call me koneko-chan." She held up a hand to silence him as he grinned and tried to speak. "But anyway. In order to have an alliance, we're going to have to meet with you someplace other than the park in order to discuss things, ne? And we're not letting you anywhere near our headquarters without taking a few... precautions first."

Kisshu rocked back on his heels and crossed his arms, smiling somewhat nervously. "What kind of precautions do you have in mind, may I ask?"

Ichigo turned to Ryou. "Do you have any rope?"

Ryou rolled his eyes. "Yeah of course, I carry a bunch of it around with me wherever I go in case the need arises." Ichigo huffed at him. "What were you going to do with it anyway? He can teleport, remember?"

"I know that," she growled. "But it takes a while for him to dematerialize or whatever, right? We'd have a warning if he tried to free himself. At least he wouldn't be able to make any sudden moves."

Ryou folded his arms in speculation. "You may have a point," he conceded. "But again, and regardless, we don't have any rope to tie him up with."

"Could you not go get some? It's not like you're doing anything _helpful_ at the moment."

"You want me to go all the way back to the café to get some rope to tie up a guy that can just _teleport_ his way out of whatever knots we tie whenever he wants?"

"It's not like you've come up with anything better."

"I haven't made any stupid suggestions, either."

"But you _just said_ it was a good idea!"

"I said you had a point, not that it was a good idea."

"Don't start getting all technical! If you'd stop being such a big _JERK_-"

"Can I have a say in this?" Kisshu interjected. He leaned back slightly as Ichigo turned to glare at him. "Why do we have to sort all of this out tonight? It _is_ getting late. Don't you think we've done enough negotiating for tonight?"

Ichigo paused to consider his proposition. The aching had spread from her shoulders down to her feet, and she felt needles of tiredness beginning to stab behind her eyes. She glanced at Mint, who nodded rather eagerly and to Lettuce, who smiled weakly. Turning her gaze back to Kisshu, she nodded.

"Fine. We're all tired, so you can go for tonight." She looked at Ryou testily, almost wanting him to object and give her another reason to yell at him, but he only nodded. "But we're going to have to meet back here tomorrow night," Ichigo continued, turning back to Kisshu. "If there's a single kirema attack between now and then, or if you bring any kind of weaponry back here with you tomorrow, the deal's off."

Kisshu nodded quickly, holding his hands out in front of him palm up. "You have my word; I'll be here again tomorrow night." He looked at Ichigo suddenly, a mischievous spark in his eye. "Don't miss me too much, koneko-chan." He winked spun on his heel then, fading into nothingness, and Ichigo caught his lips curving into a grin as he disappeared. Her fingers twitched.

The group stood in silence for a few moments, holding their collective breath. "He was kind of cute," Mint speculated at length, breaking the silence. Ichigo inhaled sharply and turned to glare at her. She smirked and held up her hands. "My my, Ichigo. I wonder what your Aoyama-kun would have to say about that reaction?" She giggled and turned away from Ichigo's startled expression to catch up to Lettuce and Ryou, who had already begun to make their way toward the park entrance.

Ichigo stood in confusion for a few moments, feeling her cheeks begin to flame. _What was _that? she wondered, recalling again rather involuntarily the way Kisshu's eyes had looked in the dusky lamplight. At length she shook her head, putting the alien boy out of her mind and resolving to whine at Mint until she did some work at the café the next day, then ran to catch up with the others.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, guys. I'm sorry. D: Long time between updates, I know. I was having some trouble writing this one, as well as some issues with... some things going on in my life. All better now though, but I regret that my writing suffered for it. P: The first part of this has been done forever; I was having trouble with the second part. Mint's kind of a biznatch in this one. And Ryou's his usual jerk-ish self. As you can see, this one's from Ichigo's point of view. I don't think I'll be doing that anymore. ^^; I find it rather difficult to write from her perspective. I know the plot didn't advance all that much in this chapter; I'm going to try to move it along a little more in the next, but as you all know, I have a tendency to ramble. :3**

**~Gypsy**


	5. Discussion

**A/N: Surprise! I haven't died! Huzzah! :D **

**I must begin with an apology (again). I've been uninspired these past two months, and then, you know, exams happened, and well... Yeah. ^^; I am very sorry for anyone who was waiting (eagerly, I hope?) for this chapter. It is here now. *nod***

**Second, I must do some Shameless Self-Promotion! But it's okay, 'cause I'm also promoting four other authors! As some of you may know, Essence of Gold, Kiichigo-chan, Saba's Reflection, True Colours and I have been co-co-co-co-co-writing a fic together. And we've made it into a contest! :D We take turns writing chapters, and you (the lovely R&Rers) then have to guess which of us wrote which chapter. There's a lovely prize in it for you at the end if you have the most correct guesses. ;) If you are interested (and I hope you are!), you can find the fic on my profile. It's called 'Ykoto - Guess the Author Contest' and the rules/regulations are posted in more depth in the first chapter. We'd all appreciate it if you participated! :D**

**But enough of my rambling - onward to the chapter.**

* * *

_Cain got a milk-eyed mule from the auction, Able got a telephone_

_And even the last of the blue-eyed babies know_

_That the burning man is the colour of the end of days,_

_And every tongue that gets bit always has another word to say_

Innocent Bones - Iron & Wine

* * *

Kisshu was doing his best to keep a straight face. "Are the handcuffs really necessary?" He gazed at the shiny metal rings that encircled his wrists, trying and failing to choke back a snort.

"Did you say something?" It was the blond boy that spoke now, from in front of him and without turning around. Kisshu felt the grin slide off his face at his icy tone. He glanced to his left at the blue Mew, who smirked at him. Ichigo let out a small 'tch' sound from behind him, and the green Mew giggled quietly from his right.

"Well, this isn't uncomfortable at all," Kisshu muttered under his breath, now staring pointedly at his feet. If any of them heard him they didn't say anything. It was cloudy tonight, and considerably colder than it had been during their previous encounter. The air was cool and fresh after the rain that had just stopped falling, and a light mist hung in the air close to the ground. Kisshu imagined he could feel it swirling around his ankles. He was itching to do something to break the tension – make a lewd comment perhaps, or a joke. He was very aware of the fact that Ichigo was walking so closely behind him and was finding it difficult to stop himself from turning around and kissing her full on the lips. He reminded himself firmly of the stinging in his cheek that would undoubtedly follow this action, along with his near-immediate return to enemy status. He sighed and resolved to continue plodding on within the small ring of Mews, facing forwards, even if it meant staring at the back of the annoying blond who headed the group. Kisshu remembered now that his name was Shirogane.

Looking back on the events of the previous night, he had been exceptionally lucky. He honestly hadn't expected to be successful in his attempt to negotiate a peace treaty. Coming up with a believable excuse for his absence had been tricky; Deep Blue was cunning if nothing else in his current state. His excuse for leaving again tonight was rather pitiful - he'd said something about having to stay up all night to observe human sleeping patterns, an idea he'd stolen from future-Pai. He hadn't been able to tell if Deep Blue had actually believed him, but he'd managed to leave without being incinerated, so his chances looked good.

The Mews moved him along at an excruciatingly slow pace; he'd always been curious as to what their base looked like inside and was itching to go faster. He could feel Ichigo's gaze fixed on the back of his head and knew without turning around that her Strawberry Bell was still trained squarely on his back, as it had been since they'd begun their trek from the fountain. The blue and green Mews on either side of him also had their weapons out; Kisshu noticed the green one held onto her castanets somewhat half-heartedly and kept shifting her grip on them, while the blue's hand tightened slightly on her bow whenever he made an unexpected move.

They had been walking for about ten minutes, and Kisshu was contemplating the best way to ask how much further they had go without garnering any glares from his 'escorts'. He had a vague idea of where the building was, but the darkness of the landscape was confusing him. Upon looking up from his feet however, he was surprised to see a tall building looming in the distance. The pink brickwork and heart-shaped windows – bright even in the darkness of night – gave Kisshu an almost uncontrollable urge to burst out laughing; this base of operations was a giant departure from the desolate gloom of the ship.

Managing to bite back the string of giggles threatening to escape his clenched teeth, Kisshu watched the tall, pink building draw slowly closer. Light spilled from some of its windows, and Kisshu recalled that there was another man working with the Mews who was probably in the building already. He was turning out to be more than just a little outnumbered; Kisshu pondered the wisdom of his plan for a moment. Shirogane stopped suddenly, causing Kisshu to nearly bump into him. The blond whirled around to face him, pointing an accusing finger in his face. Kisshu leaned back slightly.

"We're going to let you in," Shirogane stated bluntly. "If you try anything funny, the girls won't hesitate to blow you off the surface of the Earth." Kisshu blinked, trying to come up with an appropriate response.

"Etou… I'll behave?" he ventured, widening his eyes in an attempt to appear innocent. Looking anything but satisfied, Shirogane scrutinized Kisshu's face with narrowed eyes before turning around abruptly and continuing forward, pulling a set of keys from his pocket as he went. Kisshu stared after him for a moment, almost afraid of making any wrong moves, until a push on his back and an annoyed sound from Ichigo started him toward the door again.

Dim light from a room other than the one beyond the door spilled onto the cobblestones as Shirogane unlocked the door and pushed it open, looking warily at Kisshu over his shoulder and shaking his head as if in disbelief before entering. Kisshu blinked a few times at the pink frilliness of the building as he stepped inside after the green and blue Mews, trying to adjust to the bright atmosphere when Shirogane flipped a light switch. The light he'd seen from outside, he discovered, was coming from the kitchen. Somebody seemed to be moving around in there, and the smell of baking confectionary wafted through the crack between the closed double doors.

Kisshu shifted uncomfortably as Shirogane and the Mews turned to face him expectantly. "Anou… what now?" he ventured.

"Now," Shirogane stated matter-of-factly, "you tell us everything." Kisshu blinked. Everything? He pondered how things would go over if he started trying to tell his hesitant truce-mates he'd been vaulted to this point in time from a time somewhere in their near future for unknown reasons and that the sole motive for any of his actions up to now was his love for the pink-haired girl standing in the centre of their group. He also pondered how things would go over if he told them he'd technically died before all that had happened.

"Alright," Kisshu declared, pushing back his uncertainty and letting his usual brash confidence replace it, resolving to tell as much of the truth as the unusual circumstances would allow. "Let's sit down first." Humming to himself, the green-haired alien made his way jauntily over to the nearest table, dropping into one of the pink chairs and making a show of making himself comfortable before looking up expectantly at the rest of them. They blinked at him. "Well come on," he continued, grinning. "It's going to be really hard to have an engaging conversation with you all standing way over there." Ichigo, the blue one and the green one exchanged looks while Shirogane stood behind them with his arms crossed, face impassive. Eventually they seemed to come to a collective, silent agreement and moved over to where Kisshu was sitting, awkwardly taking seats around the large, circular table. Shirogane, Kisshu noticed, sat with his chair pushed back slightly – arms folded, disapproving gaze levelled directly at him.

Still grinning widely – an attempt at appearing friendly and confident at the same time – Kisshu glanced quickly at each of the wary, uncertain faces opposite him and began. "First, undo these handcuffs." He held his hands out in front of him expectantly. Shirogane glanced at him warily before withdraw his keys once more and unlocking the handcuffs. Kisshu smiled, rubbing his wrists, and then sat back in his chair. "I'll start from the beginning, more or less," he said, and found himself wishing Pai were there to make this speech for him. But of course, if Pai were there they'd probably all be yelling and screaming and dying and fighting each other – not necessarily in that order – rather than sitting in council, about to discuss a truce between them. "I am an alien, as you've probably already figured out." Shirogane gave a somewhat derisive snort at this, which Kisshu ignored. "Here's the shocker though," he continued. "My race originally come from Earth." A small gasp ran around the table at this - the green Mew's eyes grew wide, the blue Mew looked up in surprise and Shirogane sat up straighter in his chair. Ichigo remained silent, staring at Kisshu intently. "Yeah. We lived here a long, long time ago. A couple million years. We had to leave, though, because of sudden changes to the environment. Our technology was just advanced enough to get us to another planet." Kisshu looked down at his hands resting on the table for a moment and stared hard at them, a surge of emotion suddenly washing over him. If he aligned with the Mews now, what would become of the people waiting for salvation on that forsaken planet? Was he going to let them all die? Was he prepared to be the _reason_ for their deaths? A quick glance at Ichigo gave him his answer.

Yes. Yes he was.

"We can't live there forever, though," he continued suddenly. "It's too cold there to support life properly – living there as long as we have has weakened our race beyond description. People die every day – the old, the young, the sick. The ones who have given up hope." He paused then, partially for dramatic effect and partially to swallow down the lump that was forming in his throat.

"Why have you waited this long in returning?" a voice asked suddenly. Kisshu looked up, and Shirogane the Mews turned around in their seats to look at the speaker. A tall, thin, brown-haired man was standing just behind Shirogane. When had he gotten there? Kisshu realized he must have been the one moving around in the kitchen – his name was Keiichiro, if Kisshu recalled correctly. He noticed that he was holding a cake covered in sliced strawberries. Placing the cake in the centre of the table, the man sat down in the empty seat between Ichigo and Shirogane, folding his hands and looking at Kisshu with soft, wistful eyes.

"Most of our technology was lost in the first few years after we arrived," Kisshu began slowly after a moment. Keiichiro nodded and motioned for him to continue as the others focused their attention back on him. "People talk about this place. Like you wouldn't imagine. It's like a legend, this planet. Something parents tell their children about when there isn't enough food for dinner or when the cold claims someone close to them. To us, this place is heaven." Kisshu paused again to survey the effects of his words; the atmosphere around the table had grown sombre, and the expressions of the people seated around the table were becoming less uninviting, softer. Pleased with his progress, Kisshu pondered the best way to continue.

"Just recently, we succeeded in developing a ship that was capable of making the journey from our planet to this one. I was sent here on it to survey the condition of the planet – essentially to do the groundwork necessary before we could begin re-establishing ourselves here. Which is why we were kind of surprised to find another species already inhabiting our home." He looked up at this, gazing at all of them intently, noting with a sort of grim satisfaction that none of them could meet his eyes.

"Who's 'we'?" the blue Mew asked suddenly, looking up and staring at him. "You were making it sound like you were alone."

"I am, technically," Kisshu replied. "Only not really. The leader of our people, Deep Blue, is with me. He's kind of an all-powerful being who's obsessed with Earth and really doesn't like you guys."

"What?" Ichigo, who hadn't said anything since they'd entered the café, spoke up now. "'All-powerful being'?" she repeated shrilly, standing up. "How is it that you haven't mentioned this before now?"

"I haven't actually had much of a chance, koneko, what with all the handcuffing and interrogating and such," Kisshu said, rubbing his neck. "If you'll let me explain…?" Ichigo folded her arms across her chest and sat down, glowering at him. Kisshu suppressed a smile at her murderous expression – how he loved it when she was angry with him. "Lovely." Kisshu leaned forward, placing his hands on the table. "About Deep Blue. He's only all-powerful in theory. Or so the elders back on my planet say. He's been dormant for years and only really exists as a talking blue light that gives me orders." Ichigo blinked, and the blue Mew snorted derisively.

"Seriously?" she scoffed. "That's your all-powerful leader?"

Kisshu turned his head slowly to meet her gaze, regarding her darkly. "He's capable of killing every single one of you," he said in a low voice, "even with your powers. I know that for a fact." She glared at him but shut up without – to Kisshu's relief – asking him exactly how he knew this, averting her eyes to the shiny surface of the table.

"Anyway," Kisshu continued brightly as though nothing had happened, "he's come here to Earth to regain enough energy to return to his true form - the form that he can and will use to destroy all of you and reclaim the Earth for himself." Silence filled the brightly lit room. "That's where you come in. And where I come in, I guess. I've come to realize since I've been here that Deep Blue does not intend to share the Earth with my race once he has control of it. He intends to covet it, to keep it for himself. I've also come to realize that – despite the assumptions I first made about humans when I arrived here and saw the damage that had been inflicted upon this precious planet by your hands – humans aren't evil." Kisshu sat back in his chair, letting his words sink in. He could see in the eyes of the people before him – the green Mew and Keiichiro especially – the beginnings of some kind of understanding of his position and what was at stake for him.

"What makes you so sure?" Kisshu looked up in surprise, for he didn't recognize the quiet voice that had asked the question. His eyes shifted to the green Mew, who was looking at him with an expression that was a mixture of fear, sadness and hope. "How can you be so sure we aren't?"

"Lettuce!" the blue Mew reprimanded her in a harsh, almost questioning whisper. The green-haired girl flinched slightly, but did not avert her gaze. Kisshu paused for a moment, wondering exactly how he should explain it. Certainly declaring his love for the pink-haired girl sitting across the table for him would not be a good opening statement?

"Love," he stated, satisfied in paring down his true answer to just that one word. He almost cringed in the next moment as he realized how clichéd that sounded, and struggled to explain. "I mean your capacity for it," he continued hurriedly. "I've seen how you humans interact with one another, and the strength of the bonds you are capable of forming with each other -" his gaze shifted for the slightest instant to Ichigo "-proves to me that you aren't rotten all the way through like Deep Blue seems to believe."

The table was silent once more as six people seated around it contemplated what had just been said. After a few minutes, however, Shirogane stirred, seeming to come out of some reverie. "If we were willing to form a truce with you," he began slowly, as though trying to put his thoughts in order even as he voiced them, "how would it work?" He locked gazes with Kisshu as he spoke, staring at him intently as though trying to discern whether he was being honest or not. Kisshu was pleased to find that he was able to reply in complete confidence and without breaking eye-contact.

"Well," he began, "we would need to continue on as though we were still enemies-" This remark was followed by an outbreak of angry voices, coming mostly from the blue Mew, Ichigo and Shirogane.

"What's the whole point of this meeting if we're just going to keep fighting?" the blue Mew yelled angrily, her hand clenching into a fist on the table.

"People could get hurt!" Ichigo looked like she was about to stand up again, eyes sparking angrily. "You expect us to keep fighting even after going to the trouble of becoming your allies?" Shirogane had resorted to calling Kisshu names and was leaning forward across the table as he ranted.

"Calm down, please, everyone," Keiichiro called out after a few moments, sounding uncomfortable. "Let him explain." Kisshu gave him a half-smile and waited tensely in his chair for the angry voices to subside.

"Um…" he began, having lost much of his nerve after the outburst. "Oh, right. So, we have to keep up pretences. If I suddenly stop fighting you guys or giving any kind of effort, Deep Blue's going to get suspicious. And believe me, even though he doesn't have a physical body at the moment, he's still capable of killing me." The eyes of the three girls seated at the table widened at this casual mention of death, as though even with all the fighting they'd been doing they'd never really considered it to be a possibility. Kisshu smiled grimly and was suddenly quite aware of the gap between his experience level and theirs. "I'm dispensable. And the person they send to replace me probably won't be half as friendly as me."

Shirogane, who still didn't looked convinced, sat back in his chair, arms folded. "That may be so, alien. But we aren't willing to continue the destruction of our city."

"You don't have to," Kisshu replied somewhat tiredly, feeling his patience wear thin. Why couldn't these people just see things his way and be done with it? Then they could all have some of that cake that was sitting so tantalizingly in the centre of the table. But of course it wasn't that easy, and he pressed on. "Deep Blue can't sense a whole lot in his current condition. He can tell when I've gathered energy, when I've created a kirema anima, and when the parasites that mutate into the kiremas are eaten by your flying pink thingy." He glanced around, looking for the chirpy, fuzzy thing, but didn't see it.

"So it would be a matter of creating the essence of a battle without actually instigating one." Keiichiro had spoken again, his voice gentle and quiet. He was sitting with both elbows on the table, chin resting on interwoven fingers. Kisshu nodded vigorously; he was glad someone was finally getting it.

"…We can do that." Kisshu glanced over in surprise at Ichigo, who had just spoken. Her hands were folded in her lap and she was biting her lip, cheeks still blushing faintly from her earlier outburst. The change in her expression was almost comical, but Kisshu was too interested in her sudden apparent approval of his plan to laugh just then. "We can do it," Ichigo said again, looking to the girls on either side of her for their approval. The green Mew – Lettuce – paused for a moment, glancing hesitantly at Shirogane, who was still glowering. Something flashed in her eyes, though, as her gaze passed over Kisshu's lean form – separated from the rest of them by an empty chair on each side – and she nodded.

"We can do it," she said quietly, as though still trying to convince herself that she was right. Ichigo was already looking solemnly to the blue Mew.

"Mint?" she prompted.

The dark-haired girl seemed annoyed, looking from Ichigo to Shirogane to Kisshu, seeming to be trying to decide which of the three irritated her least. Finally her shoulders slumped and, eyes hardening ever so slightly, she nodded. "If he's willing to purposely fail all his missions just to align with us, he's welcome to do so."

_Trust me, _Kisshu wanted to say. _Failing on purpose will be a step up from the way things went last time. _As that would have prompted some difficult-to-answer questions, Kisshu satisfied himself with a grin and a wink in Mint's direction. She rolled her eyes and looked away.

"Well then." Everyone looked up. Keiichiro had pushed back his chair and was now standing, smiling at them all in a placidly benign manner. "Ryou, shall we take our leave to discuss these recent developments?" Shirogane looked up in surprise, pushing his chair back also and standing, indignant.

"Are you suggesting we leave the girls alone in here with _him_?" He jerked his head in Kisshu's direction. The green-haired alien snorted indignantly.

"He's just a child, Ryou," he brown haired man said quietly, leaning towards the younger man and hiding his mouth with his hand – evidently he had forgotten about Kisshu's heightened sense of hearing. "He's hardly older than Ichigo," he continued. Shirogane looked pained. "Besides," Keiichiro said, straightening up and smiling. "We have cameras set up in this room which feed into the basement. And if we're going to be working together in the future-" Shirogane glared at him and began to interrupt. "I said _if_, Ryou. If we're going to have a truce, they should begin to form a friendly relationship with each other. They'll find that more difficult with you and me breathing down their necks." He looked at Shirogane meaningfully. "Come along now." He began to head toward the door, which Kisshu presumed lead to the basement, gently motioning for the younger man to follow him.

Shirogane stood with his fists clenched for a moment, seeming to be going through some sort of internal struggle. He was finding it hard, Kisshu imagined, to argue with the older man's logic, in spite of his convictions on the matter. In any other circumstances he'd be absolutely right to be as untrusting of him as he was. As it was, however, the blond eventually saw reason – Kisshu had apparently made a better impression than he'd thought – and moved woodenly after the retreating Keiichiro, shooting Kisshu another cool death-glare over his shoulder and saying menacingly, "Remember what I said earlier," before disappearing through the door.

"They didn't factor our opinions on the matter into that equation at all, did they?" Mint remarked as the door swung shut. Kisshu returned his gaze to the table and realized that the situation had become instantaneously awkward.

"No, they really didn't," Ichigo conceded, eyes shifting from Mint to Kisshu somewhat warily. "But, let's make the most of it, ne?" she continued, brightening almost impossibly quickly now that the negotiations seemed to be over. "Look, there's cake." She gestured to the icing-covered, strawberry-laden baked good still sitting, untouched, in the centre of the table where Keiichiro had left it. "Oh, but there aren't any plates…" she trailed off, standing up briskly and bounding off to the kitchen before anyone could say anything.

"She's quite perky," Kisshu stated fondly.

"Mhm," Mint agreed, absently picking at one of her nails. "It becomes annoying extremely quickly."

"You think?" Kisshu replied, gazing after Ichigo, as small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He narrowed is eyes, then, and smirked. "I bet she's fun to mess with." Mint perked up, looking at him with hastily veiled curiosity but saying nothing. Sensing that topic of conversation wasn't going anywhere, Kisshu glanced to Lettuce, who hadn't said anything for a while. She was staring at him with a curious expression on her face, somewhere between intuitive understanding and timid mirth. She started when he caught her staring, however, and blushed.

"A-anou…" she started, embarrassed and flustered. "Have you ever had cake before?" she burst out, blushing more deeply as she realized the silliness of her question and staring at her hands. Kisshu bit back a laugh – if he didn't already know Pai had feelings for this girl, he would find it hard to believe. The notion that such a cold, analytical person would make a good match with such an excitable, emotional girl was a baffling one. He smiled inwardly though – maybe Pai was more complex than he'd grown to believe.

Ichigo, thankfully, relieved the green Mew of her embarrassment in the next moment as she returned with a stack of plates and a handful of forks. "There," she stated happily, placing the flatware on the table. "Now we all get cake!" She cut the cake into slightly uneven slices with a knife and placed each on a plate, distributing them swiftly before sitting down with her own plate and gazing at the piece of cake fondly. Kisshu blinked at his piece, unsure of human tradition in regards to eating. He looked around, noting that Lettuce and Mint had begun to eat their pieces, and so picked up his fork and did the same. The cake was vanilla, or so Kisshu presumed – he didn't have much experience with Earth flavours. He wondered briefly if the Mews would go so far as to bring him here, agree to a truce and then poison him, but dismissed the thought quickly and popped the fork into his mouth.

The cake was soft and sweet, much better than anything he'd ever tasted on his home planet. He'd have to remember to tell Keiichiro how much he worshipped him for his baking skills later, if he and Shirogane decided he was trustworthy enough to continue a truce with. "This is really good," he ventured at length, more in an attempt to break the long silence than to share his opinion of the baked-good with any of them. He looked over at Ichigo and noticed she was hunched over, methodically picking all the sliced strawberries off her cake and placing them carefully at the edge of her plate.

"What are you doing, koneko?" She glanced up at him, looking slightly annoyed at his use of the affectionate nickname but too enamoured with her dessert to do much about it.

"Picking off the strawberries," she replied absently.

"He can see that, baka," Mint put in, licking some icing daintily off the tip of one of her pale fingers.

Ichigo rolled her eyes. "Fine then." She plucked the last red berry from the white icing of the cake and straightened up, looking at Kisshu with a pleasant expression. "I don't eat strawberries," she told him, picking up her fork and cutting off a portion of her cake with it. Kisshu tilted his head to the side and looked at her quizzically.

"That seems kind of strange, considering your name," he observed drily, scrutinizing her. She laughed a little and looked up.

"It's not to say that I don't like them," she replied, taking a bite of cake and swallowing before continuing. "I just that always found it weird eating something I was named after." Kisshu was contemplating his reply to this curiously revealing statement when he was interrupted by an observation from Mint.

"Is there really any need for us to still be in our costumes?" she asked. "I'm tired, and this dress is uncomfortable." Ichigo paused and looked up, glancing from Mint to Kisshu before turning to Lettuce. The shy girl - who had by now finished her cake and was placing her napkin gently on her plate – pondered for a moment, looking from Kisshu to Ichigo and back, before breaking into a small smile.

"I think it's probably okay, Ichigo-san," she said. "Kisshu-san seems to be a nice person – I don't think we need our weapons..." There was a flash of blue light as Mint de-transformed into her everyday clothing, not waiting to hear Ichigo's thoughts on the matter. Ichigo glanced at her a little indignantly before de-transforming as well, the pink flash of light soon followed by a green one as Lettuce did the same.

Kisshu stared – he'd only really ever seen any of them in their Mew costumes, not including Ichigo. The three of them had an approachable air about them now that their brightly coloured hair and eyes and their animal parts were gone. This feeling seemed to settle into the atmosphere of the room, and the four of them soon lapsed into friendly if somewhat stinted conversation, Mint and Lettuce not participating nearly as much as Ichigo.

Kisshu found himself nearly disbelieving of his situation as time wore on – it slowly dawned on him that he was sitting in the middle of the infamous Mew Mews' base of operations, chatting amiably (if awkwardly) with their leader, the girl who'd hated him and spurned his love for so long. Kisshu was rather proud of himself for not being so controlling and perverted this time around.

The surreal quality of the evening had to dissipate sometime, however, and Kisshu found himself surprised to be jolted from his conversation with Ichigo – they'd been talking about whether tomatoes should really be considered fruits or not – and back to reality by Shirogane and Keiichiro re-entering the room. Kisshu thought he heard Keiichiro whisper something to the effect of 'What did I tell you?' to a decidedly sour-faced Shirogane as they approached, but he couldn't be sure.

"We've come to a decision," Shirogane stated bluntly as he and Keiichiro drew up to the table.

"I take it," Kisshu started, grinning, "that since I'm still in here and not being 'blasted off the face of the planet', you've decided to keep me?"

"If you behave," Shirogane replied coolly, folding his arms yet again across his chest. "But in all seriousness, Kisshu-san," Kisshu noted that the 'san' was somewhat forced, "if we see so much as a hint of dishonesty or treachery in any of your actions from now on, we won't hesitate to do exactly what you just described."

Kisshu stood up, regarding Shirogane solemnly. "You have my word," he said.

He could tell Shirogane was slightly taken aback by this action, but the blond recovered quickly by adding, "And no visits to any of the girls outside of Mew business." Kisshu stopped in the middle of a mock-salute and gaped at him.

"What?" he struggled to keep his surprise and exasperation out of his voice. He noticed Ichigo, Mint and Lettuce incline their heads slightly in surprise at Shirogane's comment.

"Like I said," Shirogane replied, seeing that he'd struck a nerve and smirking slightly. "You don't interact with any of the girls unless Keiichiro and I agree to it first."

"We're not your children," Ichigo muttered under her breath, too low for Shirogane to hear. Kisshu struggled with himself for a moment. If he wasn't allowed to see Ichigo, how on Earth was he going to get her to fall in love with him before the Aoyama boy? He considered protesting – trying to out-reason Shirogane, or perhaps appeal to Keiichiro's soft side. Slowly, though, he realized that any attempts to change Shirogane's mind would only make him seem more suspicious than he already was. He sighed internally, resolving to submit to Shirogane's will for the moment and work out a solution later.

"Alright," he said, nodding. "That seems fair." He turned, then, to the three girls seated at the table and grinned. "It's been cool talking to all of you," he faced Ichigo while speaking despite having addressed all of them. "But I think I've over-stayed my welcome." He prepared to teleport, but Keiichiro's hand on his shoulder stopped him and he turned to regard the tall man questioningly.

"Here," Keiichiro said, pressing a small, circular device into Kisshu's pale hand. "It's so we can contact you," he added, as Kisshu still looked confused. "I thought you'd like this model better than the one the girls have." He smiled.

"Ohh." Kisshu nodded in understanding as he examined the small, metallic object. It resembled a tiny speaker, and was equipped with walkie-talkie-style controls. "Cool." With that, he pocketed the device and waved once more at the Mews, carefully avoiding Shirogane's cold gaze.

"Um, bye, Kisshu-san," Ichigo said, suddenly standing awkwardly and waving. Lettuce stood up as well, smiling and bowing. Mint remained seated, sipping the cup of tea she seemed to have procured out of nowhere and waving lazily.

Kisshu began to turn, summoning up his concentration so as not to appear in the wrong place upon teleporting. Just before disappearing he glanced at Ichigo once more and, unable to resist, winked and grinned at her, waving jauntily with two fingers. He caught the very beginning of her blush before the world disassembled itself and faded to black.

* * *

**A/N: Is it really only chapter five? Feels like chapter... twelve or something. :P**

**I know, I know, the ending was crap. D: I couldn't think of how to finish this insanely long (by comparison) chapter nicely. It kind of fell apart there at the end, didn't it? I'd appreciate constructive criticism now more than ever because, if you couldn't tell, I'm not very confident at all with this chapter. ^^;; *cough*I'm crap at plots*coughcough* So you know, how were the characters, and their interactions with each other, and their reactions to... stuff, did the plot develop smoothly, did things make sense? That kind of thing.**

**And don't forget to check out the Ykoto fic/Guess the Author contest! **

**~Gypsy**


	6. Action

**A/N: Guys! Don't kill me! D: I have been so busy you don't even know. I should be doing homework but I finished this chapter off instead. ^^'' Ambercatlucky2 and True Colours have been prompting me to write faster, so thank them for this chapter, if you feel inclined. **

**I know it's short. And not a lot happens (despite the name of the chapter, ahaha xD;;). But I realized that getting this up after waiting way too long to update was more important than trying to fit everything I wanted to into one chapter, so here it is. The next chapter will be longer, and stuff will start really happening. :D Hopefully I won't be as procratinate-y. ^^;; **

**Guys, guys! Have you ever realized how many plot holes Tokyo Mew Mew has? I mean, **_**seriously. **_**These things are killing me. xD;; Trying to work around all of them is tough, let me tell you. BUT ANYWAY. Let me know if I've missed anything, and here you go.**

* * *

_I got those lovesick blues, I feel it more than ever_

_Sinking in my chest like a ship in the blue (doo doo doodoo), _

_She was a drug I abused, I feel a rising fever_

_Shaking in my sleep left me broken and bruised (doo doo doodoo)_

Letdown - This Providence

* * *

"Ribon Strawberry Check!"

A burst of electric pink light exploded across Kisshu's field of vision as his kirema anima disintegrated, the large black dog that had been its host streaking away with its tail between its legs. Ichigo fell to the ground, bending her knees slightly as she landed with cat-like grace. Kisshu glared as the other three Mews assembled around her, looking worn-out but jubilant.

Kisshu struggled as they turned to him, trying desperately to loosen the viscous yellow substance that had him immobilized from the neck down. "_Damn _this stuff is sturdy," he muttered under his breath. He shot a baleful glare at the yellow Mew – Pudding – who giggled and waved at him benignly.

Though he constantly reminded himself that she was essential to the success of his plan and would eventually help win Taruto over to Kisshu's way of thinking, he couldn't help but sometimes wish he could have left the hyper little monkey-girl out of the picture. Hoping to hurry the process of assembling the full Mew team along a little, Kisshu had used his intimate knowledge of the future to lead Ichigo, Mint and Lettuce straight to Pudding.

Inconspicuously of course, he had launched a kirema attack in the park where the energetic little girl performed for money. He had regretted this decision almost immediately thereafter – once everything had been explained to her, Pudding had taken an instant liking to Kisshu, christening him 'Kishy-nii-chan' and taking every opportunity to jump on his back and pull on his ears, always accompanied by gales of shrieking laughter. He'd taken to coming to café meetings in a dark green hoody – one he'd stolen, in desperation, from a department store – which not only made him feel ridiculous but garnered snorts and derisive giggles from everyone whenever he wore it.

"Hey, remember when I told you that you didn't have to actually attack me to trick Deep Blue?" Kisshu called sarcastically as the Mew approached him.

"Gomen, Kishy-nii-chan!" Pudding called cheerfully, raising her Pudding Ring into the air and dissolving the yellow prison. Kisshu let out a 'Gah!' of surprise, falling ungracefully to the ground and getting a mouthful of dirt in the process.

"What is it with you and landing on your face?" Ichigo asked as she drew up, suppressing a giggle and extending a gloved hand. Kisshu sat up, spitting out the dirt and glowering at her.

"I didn't sign up for this," he muttered, still savouring the warmth of Ichigo's hand as she helped him up, despite his annoyance.

"So that went well," Mint cut in drily, coming to a stop beside Ichigo and absently massaging the arm she used to pull back on her bowstring. "We didn't set anything on fire this time."

"That wasn't my fault!" Kisshu retorted, throwing up his hands in exasperation. "How was I supposed to know the rabbit would be able to breathe fire as a kirema? It was a _rabbit _for goodness' sake!"

"Why don't we forget about the rabbit thing?" Ichigo suggested. "Shouldn't we be heading back up to the café now anyways? Shirogane will be-"

"Did everything go smoothly?" Shirogane's voice crackled from Ichigo's pendant, cutting her off. Ichigo pulled a face.

"You know exactly how things went, Shirogane," she replied, jabbing a finger at Masha, who was hovering just behind her shoulder. "You're starting to sound like my dad," she added with a shudder.

"If you're going to be allies with the alien, Strawberry, I'm going to be uptight about it," he replied coolly. "I've invested a lot of time and money into the Mew project, and I'd be just _slightly_ put out if my test subjects were to die six weeks into the experiment." Ichigo's cheeks began to flush and she opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off again. "You're all going to have to stay a while longer than usual at the café, by the way," Shirogane continued briskly. "Keiichiro and I have something to discuss with you all." The pendant crackled and went silent as the feed cut out.

Ichigo gaped for a moment, cheeks slowly growing redder. "He… that… that _baka _hung up on me!" she spluttered.

"I think he's just worried about us all, Ichigo-san," Lettuce interjected gently. "Although he has a strange way of showing it sometimes."

"I'll say!" Ichigo growled through her teeth. "Anyway, it's not that. He can't just spring these things on us!" she continued, touching her pendant and de-transforming. "I mean, the battles I can understand, you can't really have a schedule for those, but I was supposed to go out with Aoyama-kun this afternoon." She shoved her pendant into her newly-formed pocket as the white light disappeared.

Kisshu froze in the process of brushing dirt from his knees and straightened up immediately to gauge Ichigo's expression. He relaxed ever so slightly upon noticing that Ichigo looked more angry than sad about this new development. Still, watching her get so worked up about missing time with _that boy _was making him feel like kicking something. Shifting his gaze slightly, Kisshu saw with a twinge of apprehension that Lettuce was now watching him with a curious expression on her face.

"Uh, well!" he said loudly and cheerfully, making everyone start. "Do you mind if I meet up with you all at the café as well this time? I have some… information to share with you."

"Eh?" Ichigo turned to him. "Oh, sure. As long _Shirogane _is okay with it," she added tersely. "Ugh, that reminds me. I have to call Aoyama-kun to cancel our plans…" She trailed off, pulling her cell phone from her pocket and beginning to punch in numbers, grumbling incoherently to herself under her breath.

Mint sighed and rolled her eyes, de-transforming as well and turning away in the same movement. "Well I, for one, am tired of standing in this alley. I'm going back to the café for tea."

"I'm gonna go too," Kisshu said hastily, suddenly realizing how little he wanted to hear Ichigo talking to the Aoyama boy, even if it _was _to disappoint him. "I have to do… stuff," he added lamely. "I'll meet you back there after you've had time to warn your boss guy that I'm coming." He turned and teleported before anyone could say anything else.

Kisshu burst back into existence half a second later, gravel crunching beneath his feet. He sat down abruptly, smacking himself on the forehead a few times before flopping onto his back and letting out a melodramatic moan. Of _course _she was still interested in the stupid tree-hugger; he smacked himself again for thinking differently – just because he hadn't heard her mention him in a while didn't mean she'd stopped seeing him. Obviously his entrance into her life hadn't magically cured her from her affliction of liking the boy. _You're pretty damn great, _he thought to himself wryly, _but not that great. _

He closed his eyes for a moment and listened to the sounds of the city floating up from the streets far below. The gnawing anxiety in his stomach and the throbbing in his head were significantly impeding his ability to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere his perch on the top of the skyscraper afforded.

After a few minutes he sat up again, rubbing his forehead and wondering vaguely if he'd left a bruise. "Alright, Kisshu," he said, standing up. "She's not in love with him yet. Probably. So just be happy she's not going out on this date with him and get over it."

He stood looking out over the sprawling city for a moment, a breeze ruffling his hair. He found himself wishing, to his intense surprise, for his mother to pop up out of nowhere and scold him for being a coward. Smiling grimly with nostalgia, he took a few calming breaths and teleported.

oOo

"Zakuro Fujiwara," Kisshu stated dramatically. Ringing silence met his ears, save for his voice echoing through the empty café. The mid-afternoon sun filtered through the tall windows, glinting off the shiny engraved 'Closed' sign hanging on the door.

"Beg your pardon?" Shirogane asked warily from his seat across the table, arms folded and eyebrows raised. Next to him sat Mint; beside her and next to Kisshu – to his horror and intense dismay – was Pudding. Ichigo was on Shirogane's other side, and on Ichigo'sother side was Lettuce. He assumed Keiichiro was baking something in the kitchen.

"Didn't you just finish telling everyone that there's a fifth one of them -" Kisshu gestured to the four Mews sitting around the table, "- that we need to find? I think the fifth is Zakuro Fujiwara."

"As in the famous model?" Ichigo asked quizzically.

"As in the most wonderful person in the world!" Silence fell as all gazes shifted slowly to rest on Mint. The blue-haired girl was sitting up straight in her chair, her normally milky complexion flushed with excitement. She clasped her hands to her breast and regarded Kisshu with shining eyes.

"Of course it's her! That makes perfect sense," she admonished Ichigo, who meeped indignantly in response but was too shocked at Mint's sudden transformation to form complete sentences.

Kisshu was gaping. He'd always known the bird Mew looked up to Zakuro to some extent – that much was evident in the way she battled by the older girl's side, always seeming to look to her for guidance. He'd also picked up the fact that Mint was very proud, in his former timeline and even more so in his current one, and he found himself struggling to shut his mouth.

"I'll be right back," Mint declared suddenly, placing her hands flat on the table and standing gracefully, sweeping away toward the back of the café without another word.

"Um." Kisshu stared after her for a moment before finally pulling his thoughts together enough to continue. "So," he began again, pulling everyone's attention away from the still-swinging door Mint had exited through. "Zakuro Fujiwara."

"Exciting, na no da!" Pudding exclaimed happily, bouncing up and down in her seat. Kisshu glanced at her warily, untrusting of the fact that she'd been sitting in one place for so long. It was making him nervous

"What makes you think it's her?" Lettuce questioned from her seat next to Ichigo. Kisshu shifted his gaze from Pudding to Lettuce and froze. He felt the blood leave his face as he realized he had no idea how to answer that question.

"Etou… because…" he cast about wildly for some kind of excuse. Shirogane was already suspicious of him, how on Earth was he going to pull this one off? "Because-"

"Because of this!" Mint had come back in, unheard by all of them, and was standing behind her chair with an armful of magazines. As she spread them out on the tabletop Kisshu saw that Zakuro Fujiwara's picture adorned most of the front covers. Mint sifted through the pile until she found one of the only magazines that didn't feature the purple-haired model on the front and flipped through it excitedly, slender fingers coming to rest on a page somewhere near the middle. She tapped the glossy surface, drawing everyone's attention to the title of the article – 'Mystery Super Hero Saves Teenagers'. Everyone leaned in the pore over the page, including Kisshu, who breathed out silently in relief. He knew where this was going.

The picture that accompanied the article took up half of the next page. The quality was bad – it looked as though someone had snapped it quickly with their cell phone – but outlined against the full moon was the dusky figure of a tall girl with wolf ears and a tail. "There!" Mint exclaimed, tapping the picture again. "That's her, I'm sure of it." Before anyone could say anything she was sifted through the pile again with one hand, keeping her place in the first magazine with the other. She pulled another magazine from the pile – this one was entitled 'Zettai Uruwashii' – and opened it up to a worn, dog-eared page. She placed the two magazines side by side and straightened up.

"See? That person is obviously a Mew," she stated, pointing yet again to the picture in the first magazine. "But her ears and tail are different from any of ours, and she's taller. Now look at this picture." She pointed to the other magazine, which featured a full body shot of Zakuro Fujiwara.

"The poses are the same, na no da!" Pudding cried excitedly, standing up and clapping her hands - Kisshu leaned away from her while keeping his eyes on the picture comparisons.

"Oh, I see it!" Ichigo exclaimed. She looked up at Kisshu, eyes sparkling with enthusiasm and excitement. He smiled back.

"Exactly," Mint declared grandly. "I just got that issue today – I recognized the pose immediately, but hadn't the time before our battle to find the photograph and make sure." She sat down finally, looking immensely satisfied with herself.

"The article says she saved two teenage girls from a mugger," Lettuce announced, head bent over the page. "I guess she hasn't had to fight any kiremas, since we started staging our battles."

"R2000 hasn't taken a print of her DNA," Shirogane cut in, arms still folded. "So the sensors haven't been picking it up when she uses her Mew powers. But Mint's right – those ears and tail match up with the DNA the fifth girl was fused with."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Ichigo asked, turning back to Kisshu. "We've had enough fights by now that the media must have picked up on us at least a little bit. Surely she'd have come looking for us if she's discovered her powers?"

"Not necessarily," Kisshu replied, leaning back in his chair. "Maybe she's not the kind to be part of a team?"

"Of course that's not it," Mint interjected, regarding Kisshu coolly. "I'm sure she just hasn't heard of us yet." She folded her arms indignantly.

"Then you all need to go find her," Shirogane declared, standing up and turning away.

"Wait a sec!" Ichigo cried, also standing. "You can't just say something like that and leave!"

"Oh," the blond replied, turning around and shoving his hands casually in his pockets. "I thought things were clear enough that you wouldn't need me to walk you through it, Strawberry." His tone was drawling. "Find Zakuro Fujiwara and convince her to join you. I don't care when or how you do it, just get it done."

Ichigo glared, cheeks flushing for the umpteenth time that day. "Are you going to let Kisshu-san go with us?" she gestured over her shoulder, voice quavering with irritation. Shirogane, who had already turned away, waved his hand over his shoulder.

"I've got tabs on him. He knows by now that he's dead if he tries anything." Kisshu's ears twitched. "I've got work to do, so either go home or get to it."

Ichigo growled at him as he ascended the stairs, turning to the others for support. "We can handle it," Mint told her, eyes sparkling again. "I'm going to meet Onee-sama," she continued happily, more to herself than to the rest of them, beginning to gather the magazines into a pile.

Lettuce put her hand on Ichigo's arm and made her sit down. "He's not too concerned about it if he just left like that, Ichigo-san," she said gently. "So I don't think he expects us to do it today."

"I guess not," Ichigo replied, face relaxing. "Thanks, Lettuce-chan." They shared a smile. "So I guess now's as good a time as any to figure out how we're going to do this, ne?" She turned to Kisshu.

"Hai," he said, leaning forward. "Should I get us something to eat from the kitchen?" Ichigo's face lit up.

"Yes, please," she replied. "I've been meaning to ask you something though, Kisshu-san," she continued, leaning forward as well and studying Kisshu's face.

Kisshu's breath caught in his throat. "And what might that be?" he asked, heartbeat quickening. Her face was very close – this was the first time in ages he'd been able to look at her like this. Her wide, brown eyes held no trace of anger or hostility, and Kisshu found himself beginning to lean forward, almost against his will.

"Why do you have a bruise on your forehead?" Ichigo asked.

Kisshu's mouth fell open. "Wha?"

"Yeah, I've been wondering about that too," Mint said, not looking up from her magazines. Lettuce stifled a giggle at Kisshu's expression.

"Anou... that's… uh… from when I fell over earlier, I think, uh... yeah," he choked out, backpedalling and internally dying of embarrassment. "So, um, I'll just go get that food," he added, standing up awkwardly and pointing lamely to the kitchen doors. He was in the middle of turning around when he realized he hadn't seen Pudding in a while.

"SURPRISE ATTACK-HUG NA NO DA!" With an ear-splitting screech the monkey girl slammed into him from behind, clinging to him with the strength of a small elephant and giggling crazily. "Kisshy-nii-chan has funny ears, na no da!" Pudding exclaimed as she climbed up his back to reach them, pulling at his clothes and making him lose his balance. Kisshu flailed wildly as the other Mews lapsed into hysterical laughter, rueing the day he was born and realizing far too late that he'd forgotten to wear the hoody.

* * *

**A/N: Good place to end it? *doesn't know* I just realized I totally abandoned my 'Only do A/N's at the end of the chapter' thing. OTL Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, feedback is rewarded by virtual hugs, and I am taking this opportunity to remind you all of the Guess the Author Contest on my profile. There is also a link to it at the top of the last chapter and on the profiles of the lovely Essence of Gold, Kiichigo-chan and True Colours, who are co-hosting the contest with me. Take a look, even just to read (and comment on! Yes, you didn't think I'd forget, did you? :3) the story, because it is brilliant.**

**~Gypsy**


	7. Zakuro

_Pinch to snub that restless nerve_

_And knock the wind from one last urge_

_With two fingers in a rock glass_

_Time passed and that was that_

_Quite a slip, a loosened grasp_

Bend to Squares – Death Cab for Cutie

* * *

Zakuro Fujiwara moved swiftly through the darkness. Her booted feet whispered over the grass, nearly silent, pausing every so often to allow her a brief survey of her surroundings. The slight breeze carried an array of information in the form of scent past her keen nose, ruffling her hair and the fur on her tail.

Ah, her tail. She had finally, blessedly, gotten past the outlandishness of the whole thing, now able to make use of the extra balance it gave her rather than be hindered by its awkwardness. The ears had taken less time to get used to – probably because they didn't have a habit of smacking into the backs of her legs and startling her – and were currently picking up a slew of minute and extremely useful sounds from the semi-darkness around her.

The soft rustling coming from the foliage above her, for example, told her that a squirrel was clinging to one of the many branches that tangled over her head. The faint sound of cars, slightly louder on her left side, told her she was half a kilometre from the southern edge of the park. Another brief pause and a scan with both her ears and nose told her the park – at least, the area of the park in which she was prowling – was empty.

That was good, she thought to herself, ducking silently under a low-hanging branch and emerging back out onto the stone path. Happening upon people in need of being saved was swiftly growing bothersome, no matter the positive light in which it allowed the media to cast her new superhero alias. (At least, that was what Zakuro supposed whoever had done this to her had intended her to be – a "hero". The idea was almost laughable.) Her moral compass and the constant muggings, fist fights and rapes she seemed to always stumble upon – honestly, people needed to learn not to roam around city parks in the dead of night – distracted her from her real goal.

Tonight especially, however, she wasn't entirely certain she wouldn't simply turn and walk away, were she to happen upon another person who needed her help.

Zakuro stopped again, this time in irritation, and pinched the bridge of her nose. The rustling of leaves, hum of night insects, and distant sounds of the city swelled around her, indifferent to her frustration. It had been weeks since the floating pink puff ball – she had no other, less ridiculous term for it – had dropped the golden pendant at her feet in almost the same exact part of the park she was standing in now. Startled by the sudden and surprising interruption of her evening walk, she had lost sight of it in the dusk after it turned tail and zoomed away.

She still couldn't explain why she'd picked up the pendant and taken it back to her apartment, or what had compelled her to utter the string of words – completely foreign to her, yet so fluid on her tongue – that had transformed her into a superhero and begun the series of changes to her body she was now struggling to contend with. Zakuro liked to think she would have been able to brush the whole thing off; hide the pendant in her sock drawer, or toss it off a cliff, and write the incident off as a strange but unnecessary distraction from her modelling career.

The changes to her body did not stop at the superpowers and occasional appearance of the ears and tail, however, and as more began to make themselves evident Zakuro found it increasingly impossible to put the incident from her mind. The enhanced sense of sight and smell, the strength, and the impeccable balance weren't particularly difficult to adjust to, and even served to improve her day to day life. The sudden appetite for raw meat, violent urge to scratch behind her ears at odd times, and desire to maul small animals were a sight harder to live with; the effort it took to suppress these urges was taking an enormous toll on her physically and mentally. Other, harder to explain changes to her personality were making themselves known, too. Controlling the violent, savage thoughts and desires that sometimes plagued her was becoming difficult, and for the first time in a very long time, Zakuro was scared.

And so Zakuro had taken to searching the park for any sign of the pink puffball, any nights she wasn't roped into work, running herself ragged and ultimately gaining nothing for her trouble. She was growing more and more desperate the longer she went without answers – as a general rule, Zakuro didn't do 'desperate'. She hadn't seen or heard any sign of the thing in all the weeks she'd been searching, and had long since begun to feel ridiculous for creeping about fruitlessly in the dark on a nightly basis.

To complicate the whole matter even further, something more unsettling had begun to occur during those long nights. It had started as nothing more than strange feelings in her gut, something Zakuro initially wrote off as nerves. Soon these feelings were accompanied by twinges of something Zakuro could only describe as heartache, and the vaguest sense of déjà vu. As the days and weeks wore on she began to get flashes of strange, blurry scenes in her mind's eye, always just barely out of her reach, dissipating the moment she tried to focus on them, like she was trapped in a waking dream.

The combined effect of all of this was far more than disturbing, and Zakuro had was finally forced to acknowledge that she couldn't handle this, that she was beginning to lose weight over this as well as sleep. Tonight's search had been especially desperate, though she was attempting to control her actions and, by extension, her emotions.

Zakuro let her hand fall away from her face, drawing in a deep breath and letting it go slowly. The night air was chilly and her breath puffed out in front of her like fog. She turned her attention back to the sounds of the park, picking up the quiet splashes of water lapping stone. Remembering the bench she would find near the south shore of the park's artificial lake if she continued forward through the trees a few paces, Zakuro decided that in sitting down and taking a break to sort herself out she would accomplish far more than she would standing around while her feet grew sore.

A few brisk strides in the direction of the lake brought the bench into view; a few more drew her up and around to the front of it. She sat down gracefully even though no one was watching, years of tuning her actions to exude poise and elegance for talent scouts and interviewers and the paparazzi guiding the motion. She raked her fingers through her hair, carefully avoiding the ears, then leaned forward with a sigh, resting her elbows on her thighs and cradling her face in her hands.

She was loathe to admit it, even if only to herself, but she was helpless. And confused, and more than a little angry at whoever had done this to her, all emotions she was quite surprised to realize she was still capable of feeling. How long had it been since she'd needed anyone to help her? That had sort of been the whole point to striking out on her own, hadn't it? For the longest time she hadn't had anyone at all, and it had served her just fine.

More than fine, in fact. Severing ties and letting go of her emotional baggage and those who had hurt her was the best thing that could have happened to help her on her way to realizing her dreams. Achieving fame and fortune had been almost laughably easy once she'd let go of such petty things as family and friends who would always let her down.

And now people came and went. Agents, coworkers, personal assistants, adoring fans. And she let them go, sat and watched people slip fluidly in and out of her life with a smile plastered on her face for their benefit, because they were unnecessary. Yes, they made her work easier, sometimes even pleasant, but Zakuro Fujiwara existed perfectly well by herself.

But then, of course, something had come along and ruined her. Presented her with a situation amazing and confusing and utterly terrifying for her inability to sort it out without help, without someone to turn to for guidance. It was killing her to admit it, even if only to herself, sitting on a lonely bench in a darkened park in the middle of the night.

For the first time in many years, Zakuro Fujiwara wished she wasn't quite so alone.

Another of the increasingly familiar visions seized her suddenly and she straightened up, hands clenching into fists on her lap. She immediately relaxed her mind, trying not to focus on the blurry half-image, hoping it would stay with her long enough for her to pick out some details. The vision vanished as quickly as it had come, however, and the knot of frustration in her abdomen tightened.

Zakuro sighed and leaned back against the bench, hands falling open at her sides. She let the feeling of déjà vu wash over her, for despite the fact that she could never remember anything about the jarring visions when they came to her, they always left her with a frustrating sense that she was forgetting something important. She passed the back of her hand over her closed eyes, squinting against the flash of brown surging across her mind's eye –

Zakuro sat up abruptly as her eyes flew open. Brown. Suddenly her mind was filled with the colour, a warm chestnut brown that somehow made her heart swell. She blinked rapidly, bewildered, and was on the verge of closing her eyes again to better analyze that colour when something caught her attention.

The lake appeared to be shining.

Zakuro stood and forced her feet forward, grabbing the rope fence that divided the shore from the water when she reached it. The surface of the lake seemed to reflect the moonlight harshly and brightly, so much so that Zakuro had to squint to keep her eyes on it steadily. She released the rope and crouched down cautiously, peering over the edge of the path where it dropped away, bathed in undulating light. The water looked almost as though it were lit from within; the light was so bright that its reflection off Zakuro's skin gave the impression that she herself was glowing, and she wondered in the back of her mind how she hadn't noticed this sooner.

Almost involuntarily her hand stretched out, fingertips trembling for a reason unfathomable to her. As her skin met the cool surface of the water something caught and sparked within her and she was overcome. A staggering slideshow of images, sounds, and feelings burst within her; warmth and friendship and closeness and love flowed through her veins, sank into her bones, relaxed her tensing muscles, sating and overwhelming her like a tidal wave crashing across a parched and barren desert.

In a flash of blinding light, Zakuro remembered everything.

* * *

**A/N So, uh. Hi there. I don't know if anyone who was reading this fic from when I first posted it is even still interested, given that it has been so very long since I last updated. Hetalia sort of took over my writing obsessions (took over my life in general more like, ahaha), and then I lost my writing muse for a while there... **

**I also have a ton (and I mean, _a ton_) of things that I owe people (birthday fics, exchange fics, letters, message replies, _drawings _even) that I really should get to, but this chapter has been nagging at me to finish it for ages, so here you go. An extremely short chapter. The shortest chapter yet, actually. ****I think it's pretty much a given that I'm a terrible fic writer, to make possible fans of this story wait so long for updates. ^^; But hey, at least I haven't given up on it!**

**This chapter is fairly... well, eh. It's kind of an info-dump. But we're all caught up with Zakuro, and the last of the Mews has been re-introduced now, anyway, so there's that. The next chapter will be longer and back to Kisshu's point of view, and there will be lots and lots of character interaction, I promise. And maybe even some plot development this time, lol.**

**I hope some of you are still out there and interested in this fic! And remember, reviews are love and truly make my day.**

**~Gypsy**


	8. Show

_Breakdown, I can see you're upset_

_So high, but I didn't help it_

_I wish I could just forget you_

_Up now, heartbeat's racing_

_One touch, now I'm faking_

_This time there's no escaping you_

Where's My Angel? – Metro Station

* * *

Kisshu stumbled back as Ichigo's hand collided with the side of his face. He braced himself against the wall and straightened, palm pressed to his throbbing cheek. Ichigo dragged her hand across her mouth in disgust.

"I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean – "

"Shut up!" Ichigo screeched, livid. "How dare you? T-that was my first kiss, too!" Kisshu took a step toward her, reaching out to touch her shoulder. She turned away violently and shuddered, hand pressed shakily to her mouth. "My first kiss…" she repeated, blinking back tears.

Kisshu let his hand fall, throat constricting. Did she really find him that disgusting? "Koneko-chan…"

"Don't call me that!" Ichigo turned to face him again, tears flowing freely now. "Get away from me! Never touch me again!" Kisshu shook his head dumbly, mind reeling as she took another step away.

Kisshu stumbled after her. "Ichigo, please…! I – "

"I hate you!" Kisshu fell silent, tripping over his own feet and falling to his knees in front of her, ears ringing, ice in his stomach. "I hate you," Ichigo said again, and the loathing in her voice tore at Kisshu's insides, cutting him to the bone. He stretched trembling fingers out after her as she stormed away from him.

Then the ceiling melted and the floor fell away, pitching everything into darkness, and Kisshu woke up.

oOo

Kisshu savoured the cool surface of the table against his forehead, trying to tune out some of the racket going on around him. Everyone was crowded around a table again today for the latest in almost a week's worth of brainstorming sessions. Keiichiro had already stuffed everyone full of cake and pastries, the discussion had dissolved into cyclical bickering for the nth time, and the café was uncomfortably warm, none of which was helping Kisshu stay awake. He hadn't been able to sleep at all after waking up from his nightmare in the middle of the night – every time he closed his eyes he saw Ichigo's face glaring at him, twisted in anger and revulsion, and heard an echo of her biting declaration – and now he was paying for it.

"Wake up, Dumbo," Shirogane said loudly in Kisshu's ear, smacking him upside the head. Kisshu jolted out of his stupor and jerked upright, yowling in pain and clutching at his ears. "You don't get to nap while the rest of us work."

"I'm up, I'm up!" he shouted, opening his eyes to see everyone looking at him with varying expressions, ranging from disapproval to mirth. Kisshu rubbed at his eyes with his fists and blinked rapidly, trying to shake off his fatigue. "So what's the plan again?" he asked lamely.

"I was just trying to tell Minto that Zakuro's bodyguards probably _won't_ accept 'because we said so' as a reason why they should let us in to see her," Ichigo said, glaring at Mint.

"Then we'll just have to be a little more creative, won't we?" Mint replied coolly, sipping from her teacup with her pinkie out.

"Perhaps you could attend one of her fashion shows or photo shoots in order to get closer to her," Keiichiro chimed in.

"Even after we figure out how to get to her, which'll be really difficult, it'll probably take some convincing to get her to join us," Kisshu said, yawning loudly.

"What makes you say that?" Shirogane asked suspiciously.

Kisshu smacked himself mentally for getting ahead of things again. "Well… she's pretty independent, right?" he reasoned, glancing around the table. "Seems that way to me, anyway. And like we talked about before; if she's had her Mew powers for all this time and hasn't contacted any of you, she's probably reluctant to join up."

Mint looked like she wanted to argue this point, but Ichigo cut her off. "So how are we supposed to get her attention, then?"

"I dunno," Kisshu said, waving his hand lazily. "We could stage a fight at one of her fashion thingies to show her how awesome you guys are or something?"

Ichigo looked sceptical. "What if – "

"Like a talent show, na no da!" Pudding suddenly materialised next to Kisshu, juggling what appeared to be plastic pitchers of milk while balancing precariously on a giant rubber ball. Kisshu glanced at her and decided he was far too tired to avoid scooting out of the splash zone.

"Pudding and everyone will put on their best performance," Pudding continued, blissfully unaware that everyone at the table except Kisshu had slid their chairs a good two feet away from her. "And Zakuro-onee-san will be too impressed not to join our team!" She clapped her hands gleefully, earning a collective gasp from the table as the pitchers sailed through the air unchecked and clattered to the floor.

Kisshu let his head hit the table once more as milk drenched his shoes and socks. "Sounds good to me," he mumbled into the tablecloth. There was a moment of silence while the others got over their shock, then some reluctant murmurs of assent.

"Of course, the idea of staging such a public attack is unpleasant," Lettuce mused, speaking for the first time in a while. "But we probably won't be able to reach Zakuro-san without resorting to something along those lines."

Kisshu, feeling that eye contact was required to properly express his gratitude toward Lettuce for supporting him yet again, sat up. "Exactly," he agreed, nodding at Lettuce. "She seems to want to use her powers to help people, so if we can show her you four make a good team and explain the whole truce thing to her, I reckon we should be good."

"Well, I don't really like it, but I guess it's really our only choice," Ichigo said, biting her lip in thought.

"So long as I get to meet Onee-sama," Mint sighed happily.

"Looks like it's settled, then," Shirogane said brusquely, standing up.

"Zakuro is appearing in a fashion show at Roppongi Hills two days from now," Keiichiro interjected, eyes focused on his open laptop. Everyone but Kisshu scooted over to better view the screen. "The show is part of Tokyo Fashion Week," Keiichiro continued, "so there will be a large amount of media coverage. I'd suggest that you attempt to take out as many video cameras as you can during the battle. You won't be able to stop the publicity entirely, but you can cut down some of it."

The Mews began to talk logistics with Shirogane and Keiichiro, discussing the best method of execution and possible setbacks. Kisshu took the opportunity to resume his head-on-desk position, trying to ignore the milk slowly curdling between his toes in favour of getting some shuteye.

oOo

Kisshu glanced anxiously around the packed auditorium, trying to get his nerves in check.

He was perched on the rafters above the runway, just behind a set of stage spotlights so that he was impossible to see from the ground. The pet-store gecko that was to become his kirema was wriggling frantically in his breast pocket; he was beginning to feel bad for what he was about to put it through. The music drifting up from the runway masked the sound of his movement as he shifted into a more comfortable position, running over the plan once more in his head. As soon as Zakuro took to the runway, Pudding was to pull the fire alarm in order to clear the auditorium; Kisshu would create the kirema and block Zakuro's path off the runway, at which point the Mews, who were sitting in the audience (thanks to Shirogane being filthy rich enough to buy them all last-minute tickets), would transform and begin the battle.

Of course nothing was going to go wrong, Kisshu reassured himself. Upon thinking about that for a few moments longer and recalling past plans, however, Kisshu revised his expectations slightly and said a quick prayer.

A loud buzzing suddenly filled the auditorium and Kisshu jumped, nearly falling off the rafters and kicking himself for not paying more attention. He glanced down to see Zakuro standing at the end of the runway in a glittering, floor-length silver dress, looking confused but not particularly frightened. Kisshu fished the gecko out of his pocket, taking care not to drop it, and summoned a parasite to fuse it with as the audience began to panic and disperse below him. He nudged the mutating lizard off the rafters and swooped down after it, hovering a good ten feet above the runway as the kirema landed, fully formed, behind Zakuro.

The gecko was now a good deal longer, looking more serpentine than lizard-like; it had gained wicked-looking fangs and claws, and its tail had a large, club-like bulge on the end. Its appearance incited a great deal more hysteria from the crowd than the fire alarm had; people were now clambering over each other towards the exits. Kisshu raised his hand, commanding the kirema to stay still for the moment as flashes of coloured light signalled the Mews' transformations. The gecko gave a shrieking cry and lunged toward Zakuro, however, catching Kisshu by surprise.

"What the hell?" Kisshu summoned his dragon swords and swooped forward, making frantic commands to halt the kirema. Zakuro whirled around and brought her arms up to shield her face, just as a burst of blue light soared in from somewhere in the crowd and hit the kirema square in the chest, throwing it backward. Kisshu dove out of the way to avoid it, tumbling into a few somersaults in midair. He righted himself hastily and turned around, just in time to lock eyes directly with Zakuro. Recognition flashed across her face. Wait – what?

"Kisshu!" Kisshu's stomach lurched horribly. Zakuro's face hardened, and she withdrew something gold from her pocket. "Mew Mew Zakuro, Metamorphosis!" Kisshu waved his hands wildly and shook his head, but the flash of purple light had already consumed Zakuro's form. Kisshu was distracted momentarily by the kirema, which gave another shrill roar and lunged at him from the side. He swooped out of its way again, cartwheeling through the air and loosing an ill-aimed burst of lighting at it, hitting its leg rather than its underbelly as he'd intended. The kirema stumbled, falling off the edge of the runway and crushing several rows of empty seats.

Kisshu righted himself in the air, diving forward to try and control the kirema once more. Something white-hot wrapped around his ankle, however, and he stopped, struggling in midair for a moment before being jerked backward with a loud 'hrk'. He landed with a crash on the runway, skidding on his back until he came up against something smooth. He blinked and looked up to be greeted by the purple leather of Zakuro's boot, then the angrily sparking violet of her eyes.

Kisshu's first instinct was to wet himself, but fortunately for his pride he settled on shrieking like small child instead. "Wait! I can explain!" he cried, throwing his arms over his face and rolling out of the way. He slashed blindly at Zakuro's whip with one of his swords and it fell away from his ankle.

"I don't recall you and I ever making a habit of talking," Zakuro said dangerously, cracking her whip. Kisshu skittered backward like a crab on his hands and feet, shaking his head wildly.

"Why the hell do you remember who I am?" he yelled, struggling to stand up. This seemed to catch Zakuro by surprise and she faltered, momentarily puzzled. A series of crashes and flashes of light, significantly closer to the runway, signalled the destruction of any remaining cameras. Kisshu was suddenly reminded that he had backup, for once, and whirled around to gaze out across the turmoil in the slowly-emptying auditorium. "Get the hell over here!" he shouted into the crowd, loosing another bolt of lightning over his shoulder in the general direction of the kirema, having given up on trying to control it.

Lettuce appeared suddenly a few rows away from him, forcing her way rather desperately through a clump of ridiculously dressed fashion designers and dashing past Kisshu to engage the kirema. Pudding was hot on her trail, darting nimbly between panicked audience members and leaping over debris; Kisshu could see Mint and Ichigo struggling to get through a ways off. His view was interrupted by Zakuro's whip, however, which she had chosen that precise moment to wrap around his torso.

Kisshu stumbled as she jerked him backward toward herself, grabbing hold of his hair in one hand and twisting his head to the side uncomfortably. "You remember, too?" she asked, voice calm and cold despite the chaos around them. Kisshu grunted in pain and tried to focus enough to teleport out of her grip.

"Yeah!" he shouted, successfully transporting himself a few feet to the left and spinning around to loose a bolt of lightning at Zakuro's feet, knocking her backward. "And if you'd stop attacking me for a god damned second I could explain why!" He danced backward to avoid a spray of concrete the kirema had sent flying with its tail. Pudding had pinned one of its legs to the floor with a Pudding Ring; Mint was swooping above it, trying to hit it with her arrows while Lettuce and Ichigo darted around its flailing limbs.

Zakuro caught her balance, rather gracefully under the circumstances Kisshu thought idly, and swung her arm around, sending the tail of her whip flying toward him once more. Kisshu ducked, hissing, and shot another burst of energy at her, trying to knock it out of her hands. "What reason do I have to listen to you? How do I know you didn't cause this… this reset?" Zakuro called over the racket, dodging Kisshu's attack. "You've always been our enemy – you're attacking us even now!"

Kisshu sighed in exasperation, vaulting into the air as Zakuro lunged at him. "Just let me explain!" he cried, jerking his foot out of the way of Zakuro's whip. "I'm not your enemy!" Zakuro managed to grab his ankles, actually growling as she yanked him back down to earth. Kisshu flailed wildly and dropped his swords, overbalancing the both of them and sending them tumbling to the ground.

"And I don't know why this happened, but you can't tell anyone that it did! Wait, that sounds bad –" Kisshu continued, scrambling away from Zakuro on all fours. His hand fell on a stray high heel and slid out from underneath him, pitching him forward. He flipped over onto his back as he fell, staring up at Zakuro in fear and exasperation as she slowly stood up. Kisshu reached for his fallen dragon swords, but a flick of Zakuro's wrist had them skidding away from him. Kisshu tried to level his breathing, glancing up at Zakuro's near-expressionless face. Her eyes were tight with uncertainty, however, and Kisshu saw that her whip hand was shaking.

"I'm not trying to kill you. I didn't cause this." Kisshu tried to keep his voice steady, willing himself not to break eye contact. Zakuro lifted her boot. Kisshu grunted as she brought it firmly down on his chest, raising her whip just slightly. "Please. I'm trying to help you, but I need you to believe me. It's very important that you don't say anything to the others until I explain!"

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't end this right here," Zakuro murmured, her voice low and dangerous. "Tell me why I should trust you." Kisshu stared at her, trying to catch his breath and searching his mind frantically for anything he could say to change her mind. He came up absolutely blank.

Zakuro's mouth twisted in a way that might have been wistful on anyone else as she raised her whip for the killing blow. Kisshu closed his eyes.

"Ribbon Strawberry Check!" Kisshu's eyes flew open just in time for a collision of pink and purple light to temporarily blind him. He felt Zakuro's weight leave his foot and someone else's slam into him. He went sprawling, rolling over a few times before coming to a stop on his side. He blinked a few times, checking to make sure he had all his limbs, then sat up slowly. Zakuro, looking thoroughly surprised, was stirring a few feet away at the end of a long track of debris. Ichigo was hunched on her hands and knees where Kisshu had just been lying, breathing heavily with her Strawberry Bell in hand.

A gurgled roar and a whoop from Pudding broke through the silence, signalling the defeat of the kirema. Kisshu stood up, heart thundering, and wiped a hand across his face. A spark of light caught his attention and he looked up, eyes widening as they locked onto the portion of the ceiling that had been hit by the collision between Zakuro and Ichigo's attacks. The spotlight he'd been hiding behind before the attack was swinging from the rafters by a few wires, sparking electricity and looking very much like it was about to fall right on top of –

"Ichigo!" Kisshu threw himself forward with a desperate cry, hands outstretched. He had enough time to register Ichigo's bewildered expression and the way her shoulders felt beneath his hands before he had slammed into her and the two of them were flying through the air. They landed heavily, the spotlight crashing down behind them, and Kisshu felt the air forced from his lungs. He gasped in pain as glass and hot metal bit into the backs of his legs, and something very heavy landed on his foot. A few crumbling pieces of concrete dropped from the ceiling, and after a moment everything was painfully still.

Then the panicking started.

"Oh my god! Kisshu, are you okay?" Ichigo, nearly in hysterics, shifted beneath him – despite his pain Kisshu cheered mentally at the fact the he was lying on top of Ichigo without even having to hold her down – and checked his neck for a pulse.

Kisshu groaned. "I'm not dead," he managed to say. He tried to move his legs and was rewarding with searing pain in his legs and right foot. "Ah! Oh god, _ow,_" he hissed, gritting his teeth.

"Oh, Kisshu!" Ichigo cried, tugging uselessly on his shoulders. "Keiichiro," she shouted suddenly.

"I know, Ichigo," came the tinny sound of Keiichiro's voice from Ichigo's pendant, calm and understanding as always. "Ryou and I are on our way in with first aid supplies."

"Is he alright?" Lettuce's boots crunched on glass and concrete as she ran up to stand over Ichigo, wringing her hands nervously. Pudding bounded up to dance anxiously around Kisshu's prone form; even Mint appeared worried as she walked briskly over.

"We should try to get that light off his foot," she suggested, casting about for something to use as a lever. Ichigo finally ceased tugging on Kisshu's shoulders, much to his relief, and stood shakily. She and the others fell to prying to light off of him, talking amongst themselves and leaving Kisshu with little to do other than be in pain. He suddenly remembered Zakuro and twisted around to look for her. She was standing very still on the spot where Ichigo's attack had thrown her, looking between him and the other Mews solemnly.

Kisshu caught her eye and mouthed the word 'please'. She returned his gaze, expression inscrutable. Kisshu glanced at Ichigo, who was absorbed in shifting the heavy spotlight, then back to Zakuro, widening his eyes into what he hoped was an earnest, pleading expression. 'Please,' he mouthed again. 'Just wait. Let me explain.' Kisshu held his breath, watching her intently. She paused for a long moment, then gave a curt, minute nod. Kisshu sighed and slumped over in relief.

"Aha!" Ichigo cried. With a collective groan she, Pudding and Lettuce succeeded in pushing the heavy spotlight off Kisshu's foot while Mint looked on approvingly. Kisshu drew in a sharp breath, pulling his foot toward himself and sitting up to examine it. He moved it around and winced – at the very least a few of his toes were broken.

His inspection was interrupted by an overexcited Ichigo, who threw herself at him for a hug.

"Thank you, Kisshu! I would have died!" Ichigo said into his shoulder. Kisshu bit back a whimper at the pain her movement cause him, but found that the fact that Ichigo was actually _hugging_ him was working wonders for him.

"Uh… you're welcome, konek – Ichigo-chan," he finally said, wrapping his arms awkwardly around her. "Nobody likes a squished strawberry, heheh." He laughed nervously, pleased when Ichigo giggled faintly at his lame joke, wondering how long Earth hugs usually lasted. When she finally did pull away, Kisshu was surprised to see that her cheeks were flushed. She sprang up before he could think on that too much, however, pulling Lettuce, who had been standing off to the side, around to assist her in helping him up. Between the two of them they got him standing; from there Kisshu found it simple enough to hover slightly off the ground, and had simply to endure Ichigo fussing over him sporadically, which really wasn't all that much of an inconvenience.

He glanced over at Mint, who seemed to have remembered Zakuro existed and was standing in front of her awkwardly, probably stammering an introduction. Zakuro had a peculiar expression on her face as she listened to Mint's jabbering, and after a minute or so she leaned over and trapped Mint in a tight, awkward hug. The younger girl was shocked into silence, and Zakuro pulled away quickly, immediately acting as though nothing had happened.

Kisshu hid a smirk behind his hand as Pudding wandered over to introduce herself and Lettuce got up to walk Shirogane and Keiichiro in from the entrance to the auditorium, relieved beyond belief at the prospect of finally being able to discuss everything with someone else.

oOo

The strong smell of disinfectant permeated the stuffy air of Keiichiro's kitchen, and Kisshu swore he had lost at least a few brain cells since being admitted to the impromptu hospital. He was stretched out on a medical table which appeared to be a permanent fixture of the room with Keiichiro hovering over him, tending to his wounds.

"It would be better for you if you wouldn't pick at your bandages," Keiichiro said amicably, looking up to smile at him from where he was taping Kisshu's three broken toes together. Kisshu withdrew his hand guiltily from where he'd been scratching around his knee. Keiichiro had picked out the glass, treated the worst of his bleeding – a large gash on the back of his thigh – and set the most mangled of his toes – that had been an extremely painful and unpleasant experience for everyone involved – in the auditorium, then smuggled him back to the café to treat the rest. He'd been forced to walk on and stretch out his ankle (which was sprained), the disinfectant stung horribly, and the bandages were uncomfortable, but it struck Kisshu that this was probably the best medical treatment he'd ever received.

"Er…" Keiichiro looked up and smiled again, waiting for Kisshu to continue. "Uh… I just wanted to… uh – thanks, I guess, for taking care of me," Kisshu said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"You're quite welcome," Keiichiro chuckled, setting down the tape and picking up an ice pack, which he applied to Kisshu's swollen ankle. Kisshu hissed when the ice came into contact with his skin, but tried not to move. "You'll want to keep putting pressure on your ankle for the next twenty-four hours, and icing it for the next fort-eight," Keiichiro advised, handing the ice pack to Kisshu. "I'm not sure how different your species is from ours, so perhaps you'll heal at a different rate. You should be able to walk normally after a few weeks, however."

Kisshu nodded and swung his legs off the table, taking the crutches Keiichiro offered to him. "I guess I'm lucky I didn't have it worse, huh?" he said absently, practicing manoeuvring with the crutches.

"Mm," Keiichiro agreed, already busy tidying up his workplace. "Your foot could have been crushed, or severed, so yes, you were very lucky." He paused for a moment as he gathered up the rest of his supplies and turned toward the door. "The things young people do for love, hm?" Kisshu, who had been busy seeing how far he could swing with just one crutch, nearly fell over, choking over his reply. By the time he'd straightened himself out Keiichiro was gone, the double doors leading to the café swinging in his wake.

Kisshu was still gaping dumbly after him when the doors opened inward and admitted Zakuro to the kitchen. She stopped a few paces in and the two of them stared at each other for a moment. At some point between leaving the fashion show and arriving at the café she'd changed out of the silver gown, and was now dressed in brown suede boots, dark jeans and a leather jacket.

"They've all debriefed me and introduced themselves," she said at length. Her voice was level, but Kisshu thought her eyes were a little brighter than they should have been. "I've asked them to let me speak with you alone for a few minutes." She paused. "Seeing them all again… seeing that they don't know me… It's all very strange."

"You're telling me," Kisshu sighed, dragging a hand across his eyes. He was suddenly very tired. "So I guess I should probably explain all of this now, huh?"

Zakuro allowed herself a small, sad smile. "That would be nice." Kisshu reclaimed his seat on the medical bench, and Zakuro brought a chair over from the break area near the fridge. Rather awkwardly at first, but gaining conviction as he continued, Kisshu recounted everything, starting with the battle on Deep Blue's ship and ending with the creation of the gecko kirema. He confessed, after some hesitation, his love for Ichigo, and his hopes of making up for his past mistakes. Zakuro listened intently throughout, nodding in the right places but otherwise displaying little emotion.

"So I'm not really sure how any of this is possible, or why I remember everything and she – the others don't, but I do know that I have a chance to not screw everything up this time, and I'm sure as hell going not going to let it go to waste." Kisshu took a deep breath in through his nose and exhaled slowly, closing his eyes and letting his shoulders slump. Everything was silent for a few moments, and at length he opened one eye to glance at Zakuro. "I don't suppose you want to tell me how you came to remember all this stuff, too?" he asked after a pause.

Zakuro was silent for a minute, in deep thought. "I'm not certain, either," she said finally, sparing him a brief glance. "It happened last night while I was in the park." She paused again, flicked a piece of lint from the sleeve of her jacket, and then looked up and fixed Kisshu with a piercing gaze. "I've been nearly falling apart, trying to decide what to do, whether or not to come here, wondering if the others remembered anything or not. To find out that they don't is… disappointing." Kisshu looked away.

"It takes some getting used to," he admitted. "But I've been thinking," he continued slowly, staring at a spot on the floor by the foot of Zakuro's chair. "If you were able to recover your memories, maybe…" He trailed off, unsure of whether or not he actually wanted to finish that sentence; Zakuro finished it for him.

"Maybe there's a way for the others to remember, too," she murmured thoughtfully. "That's an intriguing idea." Kisshu hummed vaguely in agreement, pondering the possibility of Ichigo remembering how much she hated him. "You don't want that, do you?"

"Well," Kisshu began, "it would definitely help out with the whole not-letting-Deep-Blue-kill-everybody-again thing, at least." He smiled ruefully.

"It's difficult," Zakuro said.

"What is?"

"Having an unrequited love." Kisshu looked up at her and was surprised to see that her expression was wistful.

"Who do – " Kisshu began, bewildered, but Zakuro cut him off.

"Concerning our agreement," she said, pushing her chair back and standing up, her tone suddenly businesslike. "I'm willing to play along with you for now, on one condition."

Kisshu blinked, then stood up himself. "And what is that?"

"You need to be absolutely certain of defeating Deep Blue." Zakuro fixed him with her penetrating stare again. "You and I are going to do everything in our power to ensure that everyone makes it out of this war alive."

Kisshu contemplated for a moment, thinking of Ichigo; and then of Lettuce, Pudding, Mint, Keiichiro – even Shirogane was starting to grow on him, in an annoying-family-member-you're-stuck-with-whether-you-like-it-or-not sort of way. Then he nodded, slowly and solemnly, and held out his hand.

Zakuro clasped it firmly, nodding in turn, and they shook on it.


End file.
